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February 2, 2026
Ronaldo's march toward 1,000 career goals has stopped feeling symbolic and started feeling scheduled. At 40, the numbers still bend in his favor. With form, fitness, and usage aligned, this chase now looks less like history waiting and more like history loading...
Cristiano Ronaldo chasing 1,000 career goals has quietly turned into one of the most inevitable moments in modern sports. It no longer feels like a wild milestone or a fun hypothetical. It’s something we are actively counting down toward, calendar in hand. With Ronaldo now sitting on 960 career goals, the question has shifted from if to when. At 40 years old, Ronaldo is still scoring at a rate that most elite strikers would gladly take in their prime. He is piling up goals for Al Nassr and Portugal, and there has been zero sign that the production cliff is coming any time soon. If anything, the numbers suggest the opposite.
Cristiano Ronaldo - All 950 goals
Ronaldo’s recent scoring pace is the biggest reason the 1,000-goal chase feels realistic instead of ceremonial. Over his most recent stretches for club and country, he has been hovering around 0.9 goals per 90 minutes, which is actually higher than his career average. That is absurd when you consider the mileage on his legs and the amount of football he has played over two decades.
Even after factoring in rest, rotation, and the occasional quiet match, Ronaldo has been averaging roughly one goal every game across all competitions. That matters because 40 goals sounds like a lot until you realize he has been clearing 50-goal windows in a little over a calendar year.
If he stays healthy and continues starting regularly for Al-Nassr, the math is surprisingly clean.
There is no way around it. Playing in the Saudi Pro League is less physically demanding than grinding through Europe’s top five leagues. That does not diminish the accomplishment, but it absolutely helps explain why Ronaldo’s efficiency has remained so high.
Between domestic league play, continental fixtures, and international matches with Portugal, Ronaldo is still getting a steady stream of scoring opportunities. He is also the undisputed focal point of every attack he plays in. Penalties, late-game chances, and high-leverage moments almost always run through him.
That usage matters more than raw league difficulty when you are chasing a volume milestone like this.
The latest soccer odds have Ronaldo playing in the 2026 World Cup and adding to his career scoring record. The living soccer legend has stated it would be his last World Cup if he participated. As of this writing, all signs are pointing to Ronaldo being the captain of Portugal one more time.
With 226 caps for Portugal already on his resume, Ronaldo has set another record that nobody ever thought he could reach.
Ronaldo would be 43 at the time of the Euros in 2028. Yet, many of his former contemporaries feel that the man will continue to defy age and keep playing for two more years. He’s already dotted his impressive resume with Euros success. Yet, it would be a fitting way to close out a legendary career.
With Ronaldo sitting at 960 goals, he needs 40 more to hit the magic number. Based on his current pace and assuming no long injury layoffs, a realistic estimate would be 10 to 14 months from now.
If he continues scoring at his current rate, that puts the milestone somewhere in the late fall to early winter window, likely November or December. That timing lines up cleanly with past stretches where he has rattled off 20 to 25 goals in a short span without slowing down.
Could it happen faster? Absolutely. A hot run in league play plus a productive international window could accelerate things. But a conservative projection still lands comfortably within the next 18 months.
One more thing that motivates Ronaldo to keep playing, is that he wants to play alongside his son at some point. This will definitely prolong his career. In fact, it would take a similar parallel to Lebron James and his sons.
Cristano Ronaldo Jr. is just 15 years of age as of this writing. So, it could be a few years before he’s at a level to play alongside his dad. Nevertheless, this is definitely something that the elder Ronaldo is aiming for in his last year or two playing soccer...
The wild part is that Ronaldo reaching 1,000 goals no longer feels like a stretch goal or a fairytale ending. It feels routine in the most ridiculous way possible. He has turned something that should be impossible into a math problem with a very reasonable answer.
As long as he is on the pitch, healthy, and motivated, there is little reason to think this chase stalls out at 980 or 990. Barring something unexpected, we are looking at a calendar moment rather than a career debate.
Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 1,000th career goal is coming. The only real suspense left is which match gets the honor.
About The Author: Rob “Knuckles” McPhail is a soccer betting expert who focuses on what actually moves results and prices in 2026: matchups, tempo, and tactical fit.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on February 6, against Al Ittihad, for the Saudi Super League. You can watch Al Nassr vs Al Ittihad, Sunderland vs Burnley, Albacete vs Barcelona, Manchester City vs Newcastle, Arsenal vs Chelsea and Leeds vs Nottingham Forest, all matches provided from our soccer live game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Nassr vs Al Ittihad kick-off time (06-02-2026):
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 / skysports.com / beinsports.com
