'801 and still counting!': Man United star Cristiano Ronaldo hails his OWN goalscoring landmark in Twitter video... with brace against Arsenal making him the FIRST footballer to score more than 800 official goals

Cristiano Ronaldo has never been one to shy away from talking up his own achievements and so it has proved once more after yet another record-breaking evening for him on Thursday night.

The Manchester United star became the first male or female professional footballer in history to score 800 competitive goals after netting Man United's second goal in their 3-2 win against Arsenal at Old Trafford.

The 36-year-old then took his tally to 801 with the winner 20 minutes from time, smashing a penalty won by Fred high into the net past Aaron Ramsdale to secure victory in Michael Carrick's final game as interim boss.

Cristiano Ronaldo has paid tribute to his own landmark of scoring 800 official career goals

Ronaldo has now scored more Premier League goals (six) against Arsenal than against any other side in the so called 'Big Six', with the previous best being the five he has netted in his career against Tottenham.

However, that was evidently not the most high-profile statistic to come out of his evening's work, with Ronaldo smashing yet another record and writing himself into the history books in terms of goals scored over his career.

And less than 24 hours after breaking the 800-goal barrier, the Portuguese has posted a video paying tribute to his record, with a number of still images scattered in the background among replays of his many goals and celebrations during his career.

However, in the foreground is a picture of a young Ronaldo as a boy in what are seemingly Sporting Lisbon colours with the words: 'Cristiano Ronaldo, 801 goals, this kid's dream.'

There is also an audio accompaniment, with Rob Palmer commentating on goals the former Real Madrid star scored during his time in the Spanish capital, either side of BT Sport's Darren Fletcher's commentary after Ronaldo had netted a stunning overhead kick from the edge of the 18-yard box against Juventus in 2018.

Ronaldo is also heard saying something that he has repeated throughout his career, that 'I don't follow records, the records follow me.'

In his tweet, he added: 'Very happy to become the first football player to score more than 800 official goals. 

'What an amazing and unforgettable run this is becoming… Thank you to all my supporters for always standing by my side. 801 and still counting!'

Ronaldo's winner from the spot was his 130th goal for United across two spells, to go along with his 71 assists and direct contributions to more than 200 goals at Old Trafford.

However, more than half of those 801 goals came in Madrid, where he netted an incredible 450 goals in just 438 games.

The 36-year-old never truly settled at Juventus in his three seasons and one game at the Allianz Stadium, but he still managed to find the net on 101 occasions from 134 competitive outings. 

He has also found the net 115 times in the 184 appearances he has for his country since 2003, including an incredible 14 for Fernando Santos' men in 2019, while the other five career goals came when he was just starting out at Sporting Lisbon. 

Twelve of the 130 goals for United have come in his 16 appearances this season for the club, and he will look to add to those when they face Crystal Palace in Ralf Rangnick's first game in charge.  

The 63-year-old German was glowing in his praise of Ronaldo in his first press conference as United boss, having been in the stands to see his double against Mikel Arteta's men. 

'You always have to adapt your style to fit the players,' Rangnick said. 'He [Ronaldo] is an amazing, top professional. At his age, I have not seen a player who is still that physically fit. 

'It's about how we can develop the whole team, not just Cristiano. We play in the most competitive league in the world. All his team-mates will have to do the same.'