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January 29, 2026
Ronaldo may no longer be plying his trade in Europe but his global appeal is still as strong as ever. With his sights set on reaching the landmark 1,000 career goals, he may be in his 40s now but age does not stop the phenomenon that is Ronaldo...
With his contract with Al-Nassr running until summer 2027 and the World Cup 2026 on the horizon, nobody would bet against Ronaldo racking up the 40 goals required to hit 1,000. He has already scored 16 goals in the Saudi Pro League this season, maintaining the prolific goalscoring rate that has placed him head and shoulders above every other elite footballer in history.
The five time Ballon d’Or winner continues to break record after record; as well as having the highest career goal tally of all time, he also holds the record for most international goals. It is no wonder that so many sports fans choose to back Ronaldo in the goalscoring betting markets because he is the closest thing to a cert when his record shows ratios of 0.72 to 0.79 goals per game throughout his career.
Perhaps surprisingly, you will get odds as high as 25/1 for Ronaldo to be named top scorer in the 2026 World Cup. With group games against Colombia and Uzbekistan, plus a playoff team which is yet to be decided, there is a very good chance that Ronaldo and his Portugal team will be progressing to the latter stages of the competition.
Ronaldo doesn’t just dominate the football world, he is also the most followed human on Instagram with 670 million followers. With successful seasons in the Premier League with Manchester United, La Liga with Real Madrid and Serie A with Juventus, he has built an international cult following. This is another reason why sports bettors around the world constantly back CR7 across a range of betting markets.
If you have ever wondered which countries he is most popular with when it comes to sports betting, here is an overview of the countries who back him the most...
Cristiano Ronaldo - Road to the 2026 World Cup
With two separate stints at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo remains a very popular player to bet on with English bettors. Sports bettors in England follow his career in Saudi Arabia but also like to place bets on his next club if he leaves the Saudi Pro League, whether he will hit 1,000 goals and there will be a flood of betting in England backing him in the World Cup.
The pride of Portugal, Ronaldo has had a significant impact on sports betting activity in Portugal over the years. In Q3 of 2025, the sports betting industry in Portugal surpassed €504 million and the Ronaldo effect has played a significant part in the rising popularity of sports betting in the country. You can expect a huge boost in sports betting revenue in the lead up and throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Despite never playing in the MLS, Ronaldo has a huge fan base in the US. There is a massive sports betting market in the US and Ronaldo is amongst the top sportspeople that US sports bettors enjoy betting on. With this year’s World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico, some lucky US fans will get the chance to see the star in person with games in Houston and Miami confirmed so far. Ronaldo-fever in the World Cup will have US bettors backing him in the scoring markets and overall betting revenue is expected to exceed the record of US$35 billion in total global betting for the 2022 World Cup.
The online sports betting industry in Canada has been growing at rapid speed and the fact that Canada will be hosting some of the World Cup games will attract even more betting interest from the Canadian market than ever before. With the new regulated betting market launched in Canada since the last World Cup, sports betting revenue will certainly increase in 2026. Ronaldo fans in Canada will have more betting sites such as PowerPlay's sports bets to easily place bets and find in-play bets to add to the excitement during the World Cup.
Canada is around 250-1 to win the World Cup, so lots of Canadians will be exploring other betting options, such as Portugal to win World Cup at around 12/1 but the stand out bet for Ronaldo fans is definitely the top goalscorer market with odds of 25-1, behind Mbappe, Kane, Messi, Haaland and Woltemade.
It is more than likely that this will be Ronaldo’s last major international tournament at 41 years old, so he will be wanting to add to his unmatched legacy and who would bet against him doing just that?
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on January 30, against Al Kholood, for the Saudi Super League. You can watch Al Kholood vs Al Nassr, Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano, Elche vs Barcelona, Aston Villa vs Salzburg, Nottingham Forest vs Ferencvaros and FC Porto vs Rangers, all matches provided from our streaming live game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Kholood vs Al Nassr kick-off time (30-01-2026):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 01:30
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 23:00
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+3: 20:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 18:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 17:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 14:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 13:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 10:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / si.com / goal.com
