Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo says he won’t end his career until he scores his 1,000th career goal.
The 40-year-old scored twice in Al Nasr’s 3-0 win over Al Ahdoud on Saturday, taking his tally for club and country to 956.
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The forward joins Al-Nassr in 2022, having signed a new two-year contract with the Saudi Arabian club in July last year, which saw him celebrate his 42nd birthday.
After being named the best player in the Middle East at the Globe Football Awards in Dubai on Sunday, Ronaldo said: “It’s difficult to continue playing but I’m very motivated.
“My passion is high and I want to continue. Wherever I play, whether it’s the Middle East or Europe, I love playing football and I want to keep going.”
“You know what my goals are. I want to win trophies, I want to reach this number [1,000 goals] You all know it. I would have definitely reached that number if I hadn’t been injured. “
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In an interview with Piers Morgan last month, Ronaldo said he planned to retire from football “soon”.
“I think I will be ready. Of course, it will be difficult. I will probably cry,” Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo has scored 13 goals in 14 appearances for Al Nasr this season and leads the Saudi Professional League standings by four points.
Although the striker has scored 112 goals in 125 games, he has only won one trophy since his arrival – the 2023 Arab Club Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals scored by Portugal (143 goals) and Real Madrid (450 goals), and is the only player to score 100+ goals for four clubs: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nasr.
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The forward said in November last year that the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico would be his last international appearance.
He captained Portugal to win Euro 2016 in France, the country’s first international men’s trophy.