Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo says he will not end his football career until he scores his 1,000th career goal.
The 40-year-old netted two goals in Al-Nassr’s 3–0 victory over Al Akhdoud on Saturday, taking his total tally for club and country to 956 goals.
The striker, who joined Al-Nassr in 2022, signed a new two-year contract with the Saudi club last summer, keeping him active beyond his 42nd birthday.
Speaking after being named Middle East Player of the Year at the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony in Dubai on Sunday, Ronaldo said:
“It’s difficult to keep playing, but I’m motivated.
My passion is high and I want to continue. It doesn’t matter where I play, whether in the Middle East or in Europe. I always enjoy football and I want to keep going.
You know what my goal is. I want to win trophies and I want to reach that number [1,000 goals] that everyone knows about. I will reach that number for sure, if I don’t have injuries.”
In an interview with Piers Morgan last month, Ronaldo had said he plans to retire from football “soon.”
“I think I’ll be ready. It will be difficult, of course. I will most likely cry,” Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo has scored 13 goals in 14 appearances this season for Al-Nassr, who lead the Saudi Pro League table by four points.
Despite his record of 112 goals in 125 matches, Al-Nassr have won only one trophy since his arrival — the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023.
Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals with Portugal (143) and Real Madrid (450), and is the only player to have scored more than 100 goals for four clubs: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.
The striker stated in November that the 2026 World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be his final international tournament.
He captained Portugal to victory at Euro 2016 in France — the first international trophy for the Portuguese men’s national team.
