Portugal legend Pauleta has heaped praise upon Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Sunday’s Nations League final against Netherlands.
The Juventus forward netted a hat-trick in his side’s 3-1 win over Switzerland on Wednesday to send the Euro 2016 winners through to the final.
The former Real Madrid man has many admirers across the globe, and one of whom is the man he took Portgual’s all-time goalscoring record from, Pauleta.
The 46-year-old scored 47 goals in 88 appearances for his country before retiring from international football in 2006, before Ronaldo went on to smash the record and now sits on 88 goals for his country – 21 behind the world record holder, Iranian forward Ali Daei.
"Cristiano is a fantastic player,” Pauleta told Marca .
“In my opinion he is from another world. He has made and continues to make footballing history.
“It is difficult to find another player that has performed as consistently as he has over such a lengthy period of time.
"I hope he achieves it [the record] because it would be great for Portuguese football."
The former Paris Saint-Germain striker failed to lift silverware for Portgual during his nine-year international career, coming closest at Euro 2004 as they lost to shock winners Greece on home soil.
Netherlands ran out 3-0 victors the last time the two sides met in March 2018, but have lost seven of their 13 meetings with the Portuguese.
Pauleta sees no parallels between that game and the Nations League final except the country in which they are played, adding: “"It will not have any bearing on it whatsoever.
“They are two completely different matches, this time we are playing against a different team and against different players.
“I am sure that we are going to be treated to an excellent spectacle, our fans will be right behind us spurring us on and hopefully we can get the result.
“Holland are a great side with lots of young, talented players. However, we also have a very strong team. We are all just hoping to see a great final, with lots of goals and hopefully a win for Portugal, which is obviously our main aim."
