DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his determination to score 1,000 goals by the end of his career.
And the 40-year-old Portugal superstar is in no doubt he’ll get there.
“I will reach that number for sure, if no injuries,” Ronaldo said late Sunday at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, where he was named as the best player in the Middle East.
Ronaldo moved onto 956 career goals by scoring twice for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday. His tally includes men’s international record of 143 goals for Portugal, which Ronaldo is set to lead into next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Ronaldo has scored 13 goals in 14 appearances this season for Al-Nassr, the team at the top of the Saudi Pro League’s standings.
He is the career scoring leader for Portugal (143) and Real Madrid (450), and is the only player to have scored 100+ goals for four clubs — Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.
By the time the World Cup begins, Ronaldo — a five-time world player of the year — will be aged 41, and he said in November the World Cup will be his last international tournament..
“I am still very motivated to carry on,” the former Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus striker said on stage after receiving his award. “It doesn’t matter (where) I play — Middle East, in Europe — I always enjoy to play football, to win trophies, to score goals and I want to carry on.
“You know what my goal is: I want to win more trophies and I want to reach the number that you will all know.”
The World Cup is one of the few trophies missing from Ronaldo’s collection. He won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016.
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