1000 goals, Ronaldo is very close!

Cristiano Ronaldo is nearing a landmark that no other footballer in the modern era has achieved: 1000 goals in his professional playing career.

As of now, the Portuguese superstar has scored 957 goals across all competitions, meaning he is just 43 goals away from completing a historic journey spanning over two decades.

At 40 years old, while most players of his generation have retired or moved into coaching roles, Ronaldo continues to maintain strong motivation and an impressive scoring rate. He views reaching 1000 goals not only as a personal target but also as a reason to stay engaged in top-level football during the final years of his career.

Since joining Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has continued to demonstrate his rare goal-scoring instinct. In 125 appearances for the Saudi club, he has netted 113 goals, averaging a goal every 97.8 minutes. This rate is difficult even for many young forwards in their prime to sustain, let alone a player in his forties.

Based on his current performance, Ronaldo needs about 4,303 more minutes on the pitch to score the remaining 43 goals. This equates to roughly 48 full matches. If he avoids injury and continues to play regularly, it is highly likely that Ronaldo will reach his 1000th career goal in the 2026–27 season.

For the rest of this season, Al-Nassr still has 24 domestic league matches and up to 7 more in the AFC Champions League if they advance far. In an ideal scenario, if Ronaldo plays every match fully, he could accumulate about 2,790 minutes of club football. With his current scoring pace, his goal tally could approach approximately 984 before the World Cup.

This opens an emotional possibility where his 1000th goal could come during the World Cup, the most prestigious tournament in the world. Although this is unlikely, it is not impossible if Ronaldo accelerates his form in the season's final stages and capitalizes on opportunities with the national team.

While the most probable scenario is Ronaldo hitting 1000 goals early in the 2026–27 season, maintaining such consistent performance at age 40 is extraordinary. Cristiano Ronaldo's journey is not just a race against numbers but a symbol of willpower, ambition, and professionalism rarely seen in football history.