With the 2026-27 edition of the Nations League on the horizon, veteran Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has set his sights on achieving the milestone of 1000 goals but insisted he is not obsessed about it. The 41-year-old has also asserted that he still has a lot to offer to his country as new coach Jorge Jesus gears up for his first game as Portugal’s coach.
“I’ve already admitted that I want to get there” – Cristiano Ronaldo on 1000 career goals
Jesus replaced Roberto Martinez after Portugal’s disappointing World Cup campaign ended in the round of 16 against eventual champions Spain.
Ronaldo, now on 979 career goals — 833 for clubs and 146 for Portugal — is 21 short of the 1,000-goal landmark he has openly targeted. Asked whether winning the Nations League or reaching four figures mattered more, he grinned and chose both.
“One goal is to achieve both – reaching 1,000 goals and the national team trying to win this Nations League. It’s a new era with manager Jorge Jesus, whom we all know well; I just hope things go well for him,” Ronaldo said at the Portugal Football Summit at the Portuguese FA headquarters outside Lisbon.
Ronaldo said reaching 1,000 in Portugal colours would be “the icing on the cake”.
“Scoring my 1,000th goal for the national team would be the culmination of something – a beautiful story,” he said. “It wouldn’t be the end of it, but it would be a beautiful story.”
Ronaldo insisted, however, that he was not consumed by the chase.
“I’ve already admitted that I want to get there, and I will get there,” he said. “An obsession? No … The rest is about enjoying it, enjoying every day.”
“I learnt something from my late 30s onwards” – Cristiano Ronaldo opens up on his retirement prospects
Ronaldo acknowledged he had considered his international future after Portugal’s World Cup exit, but said talks with the Portuguese FA and Jesus convinced him to continue.
“They count on me. I still believe that I’m able to help the national team,” he said. “The most important point is to be able, inside the pitch, to score goals and help the team to win games.”
“If the manager doesn’t count on me, I can leave today – no problem at all… When I feel that I’m not doing anything here, that I’m not contributing on the pitch, not scoring goals, creating a bad atmosphere, or that they don’t want me here, I’ll be the first to pack my bags.”
Pressed on retirement, Ronaldo refused to draw a clear line under his career.
“I learnt something from my late 30s onwards, which is to live in the moment, don’t think about tomorrow,” he said.
“Is it possible? Yes. Highly likely? Yes. But will it happen? No, I don’t know.”
Ronaldo may be 21 goals from four figures and perhaps closer to the exit than he cares to admit, but for now he remains exactly where he likes to be: in Portugal’s shirt, in front of the cameras, and dodging bullets with a smile.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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