How Many Goals Does Cristiano Ronaldo Need to Reach 1000?
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to make history. Recently honored for surpassing the symbolic milestone of 200 matches with the Portuguese national team, the Portuguese star admitted that he is not obsessed with reaching the 1000-goal mark in his career.
Ronaldo is a player driven by records. After shattering statistics, collecting numerous individual awards and team trophies throughout his career in Europe with clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus, the Portuguese international is still chasing new milestones both with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and with the Portugal national team. At 39 years old, and once again called up by Roberto Martinez for the latest round of qualifiers, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has just received another accolade: the Platinum Award from the Portuguese Football Federation for reaching 200 international caps, a feat he achieved in 2023.
With 133 goals in 216 appearances for Portugal since his debut on the international stage, the Al-Nassr forward did not hide his satisfaction at adding another trophy to his already overflowing cabinet: “I am proud to receive this award, I don’t see it as an end but as a beginning. When I joined the national team at 18, my only dream was to make my debut in the Portuguese jersey,” CR7 recalled.
Aiming for 1000 Goals?
The Portuguese captain also spoke about his targets. “At first, I aimed to reach 25 matches, then 50, which is an important milestone for any player. Then I thought, why not 100? A nice round number, three digits. After that, I started thinking about 150, 200... for me, reaching these numbers is something great,” he expressed.
When asked if he still has his sights set on reaching 1000 goals in his professional career—a milestone he once admitted he wanted to achieve and is currently close to with 902 goals under his belt—Ronaldo chose to be more cautious: “I'll be honest, I’m responsible for this. I said publicly that I wanted to reach a thousand goals, and now it seems like that's my only objective. But right now, I want to enjoy the present. Yes, I said I wanted to hit 1000 goals, I just reached 900, and people are already asking for more. If it happens, great; if not, I’m still the player who has scored the most goals in history, so everything is fine,” the former Real Madrid player confessed with sincerity.
Whether he reaches 1000 goals or not, the truth is that Cristiano Ronaldo has already left an indelible mark on football, and he continues to enjoy his successes with the same passion he had at the start.
