Ronaldo adamant he will not retire before reaching 1,000 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo will not even consider retiring from professional football until he has scored 1,000 career goals, with the Portugal icon now 44 away from that mark.

Ronaldo netted his 956th career goal on Saturday as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Okhdood 3-0 in the Saudi Pro League. 

He is level with team-mate Joao Felix at the top of the Pro League scoring charts for 2025-26 with 12 goals apiece, though Ronaldo's haul has come from 12.03 expected goals (xG), while his fellow Selecao star has massively overperformed his 5.46 xG.

Ronaldo will turn 41 in February but still has two more years remaining on his contract with Al-Nassr, while he is also looking to appear at a sixth edition of the World Cup in 2026.

Ronaldo has now scored at least 40 goals in three consecutive calendar years, with one league game – away at Al-Ettifaq – to come in 2025, on Tuesday.

He remains firmly on course to complete his quest for four figures, and fitness permitting, there is no chance he will walk away from football before achieving that feat. 

Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, where he won an award for the best player in the Middle East, Ronaldo said: "It's hard to continue playing, but I am 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 playing 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. That you all know. I will reach the number for sure, if no injuries."