On Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo can take a big step towards a first major trophy since moving to Saudi Arabia but the quarter-final of theAsian Champions Leagueagainst Yokohama F Marinos also offers a chance to take a smaller stride towards an unprecedented personal milestone: 1,000 first-class goals.
Pelé scored plenty but claims of 1,279, recognised by theGuinness World Records, included unofficial and exhibition games and perhaps, wondered Diego Maradona, backyard games against his nephews. The stats siteRSSSFcredits the Brazilian with a total of 778.
Ronaldo has 933. This month, after scoring twice forAl-Nassrin a 3-1 win over Al-Hilal in the Riyadh derby, he played it down. “Guys, let’s enjoy the moment, the present,” he said. “I’m not following 1,000 [goals]. If it’s yes, perfect. If it’s not, it’s not.”
In a chat with Rio Ferdinand last August, however, he was more bullish. “For me it’s the best mark that I can have in football, to reach, first 900 goals. After, my challenge is 1,000 goals,” he said, adding that there were also no doubts about his number even if he wasn’t quite as cheeky as Maradona. “All the goals that I score, they have video. So I can prove that it’s [real] … But if I don’t have injuries, I want that [goal tally].”
At the age of 40, games and scoring opportunities are running out even for a player in such fine physical condition, but the goals are still flowing. Last season Ronaldo broke theSaudi Pro Leaguerecord with 35. This season he also tops the standings with 23. There are rumours that Gianni Infantino wants him to receive an invitation from one of the 32 teams at the Club World Cup (well, 31, as he is never going to appear for Nassr’s bitter rivals Al-Hilal) and potentially play a few more games this summer. As well as further international appearances with Portugal from June – he scored international goal number 136, a men’s record of course, against Denmark in March – there should be more than one Asian Champions League game in the coming days.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has seven goals in the tournament and will fancy his chances of more against Yokohama, especially as he was rested in Al-Nassr’s 3-2 league win at Damac on Tuesday (it was only their second win in seven Ronaldo-less games this season; he doesn’t miss many). The Japanese team are bottom of the J1 League. After three successive Australian coaches with Ange Postecoglou, Kevin Muscat (who both delivered league titles) and then Harry Kewell (who led them to the last season’s Champions League final but was fired after poor domestic results), Steve Holland, Gareth Southgate’s former England assistant, was appointed just before Christmas. He was dismissed on Good Friday after four months and not many more points.
Format as well as form is against Yokohama. From the quarter-final stage onwards (the final is on 3 May), all games will be over one leg and held in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Home advantage will help Ronaldo, who wants as many games as possible for club and country.
There have been some concerns in Portugal, heightened during the 2024 European Championship, about whether his continued place in the national team is warranted and whether this personal milestone could become a collective millstone. “Ronaldo is at a point in his career where he needs to start prioritising the team instead of himself,” Dietmar Hamann said last July, adding that he would be surprised if the forward reached 1,000 goals. “I don’t think he can go on for that long.” This week, however, Luís Figo predicted that his compatriot could be a starter at the next World Cup and would still be scoring at the age of 42.
There is much less of a debate in Saudi Arabia about his effectiveness. There, Ronaldo is very much the face of his club, which he joined in December 2022, and the league. Public doubts are rare but can be heard. Al-Nassr’s coach, Stefano Pioli, has been criticised for failing to create a more expansive brand of attacking football but the former Al-Hilal administrator Ibrahim al-Anqari said last week it was not all the Italian’s fault. “Any coach will find it difficult to do so withCristiano Ronaldo,” he said. “If you do not create an easy opportunity for him, he will not be in the match.”
The latter part seems a bit harsh given some of the goals he has scored – the former Al-Nassr star Hashem Sorour said that only Al-Hilal fans or those who know nothing of football criticise Ronaldo – but the old marauding forward is long gone.
The hunger for goals is still there, of course. Being 67 short on the wrong side of 40 makes it tough to get on the right side of 1,000 but Ronaldo is still playing and still scoring. His contract in Riyadh ends this summer but most expect that it will be extended for another season until the 2026 World Cup. What happens after that may depend on just how close he is.