Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s top scorer in 2023 and has 859 career goals… but can the Portuguese superstar make it to 1,000 and when could he reach that landmark by?

• Cristiano Ronaldo is enjoying an impressive season despite now being 38
• He has 859 career goals and outlined his aim to reach 1,000 before retirement
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 

Despite being 38 and supposedly in the twilight of his career, Cristiano Ronaldo shows no signs of letting up.

While the argument over whether Ronaldo or Messi is the greatest player of all-time will go on forever, the Portuguese superstar provided a reminder of his quality with four goals over his country’s two matches in recent days. 

His two strikes in Monday’s 5-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina means Ronaldo now has 127 international goals in 203 caps, while he has netted 859 times in total during his career.

Speaking last week, Ronaldo – who became FIFA’s all-time leading goalscorer in 2022 – insisted he wants to score 1,000 goals before he retires after being challenged to do so by Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto. 

He said: ‘He [Pinto] set me the challenge of reaching 1,000 goals. It will be quite difficult, but it is to see how I am mentally, my motivation. If, physically, my legs treat me as well as I treat them.

Cristiano Ronaldo reminded the world of his quality with four goals for Portugal in recent days

The Portuguese superstar has 859 career goals and is the world’s top scorer this calendar year

‘Let’s see,’ he added added. ‘Until I reach 1000 I have to reach 900 first. I believe I will reach it. Now I always think about short-term goals.

‘The target for 900 goals? I’m confident, but for 1,000 goals it’s a lot of stone to break.’

Given no one has ever reached the 1,000 mark before, it is perhaps no surprise that even Ronaldo – always so confident in his ability – has raised doubts about the chances of achieving it.

But given the 38-year-old has remained a key part of his national team for their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign – with nine goals in seven games – and is expected to lead the line at the tournament next summer, could he achieve the feat?

The Portuguese forward is the current top scorer in the world this calendar year with 40 goals after Monday’s brace, as he edged in front of Erling Haaland.

At the current rate he is scoring, with his 40 goals across 290 days in 2023 measured at 0.14 goals per day, Ronaldo would be expected to reach 50 goals by the end 2023.

If this continued, Ronaldo would take 936 days to score the remaining 131 goals required to breach the 1,000 mark. This would therefore come on August 24, 2026.

However, if it is looked at a different way, Ronaldo has played 22 seasons worth of football and scored 859 times, which comes in at 39.05 goals per season.

This measurement comes out at it taking the 38-year-old 3.6 seasons to reach the 1,000 landmark, meaning it would be achieved at some point towards the end of the 2026-27 campaign, by which point Ronaldo would be 42.

Alternatively, given Ronaldo has 859 goals in 1190 career games a rate of 0.72 goals per match, he would require 196 matches to tick off his final 141 goals. 

He wants to reach 1,000 goals after being challenged by Porto President Jorge Nuno Pinto

Your browser does not support iframes.

The Al-Nassr forward faces a tough ask to reach 1,000 career goals, but if all goes to plan Mail Sport’s calculations estimate Ronaldo could reach the landmark at some point in 2026

With the 38-year-old set to play around 40 games for Al-Nassr in all competitions this year, plus approximately 10 in total for Portugal, again Ronaldo would be looking at some time in 2027 to break the 1,000 barrier.

If a more short-term outlook is taken, with Euro 2024 on the horizon, Ronaldo could play seven games alone in that tournament on top of the likely 10 international games elsewhere during that year.

Ronaldo currently has 10 goals in eight Saudi Pro League games this season, having missed one due to injury, meaning across a 34-game campaign, he would be expected to hit the back of the net 41 times.

Coupled with his current rate of 1.29 goals per game for Portugal this year, Ronaldo is likely to play twice more for his country in the November international break, plus two more games in March.

This would see him score five more goals before Euro 2024 and 31 more Saudi Pro League goals, meaning by the start of the tournament, Ronaldo could have netted 890 times in his career. 

Then, going by the average of 50 goals per calendar year, along with the unpredictable length of Portugal’s time at Euro 2024, coupled with cup games for Al-Nassr, he could expect to reach 1,000 goals by the time the 2026 World Cup comes around. 

However, it is again important to mention that it is hard to measure Ronaldo’s future outlook given the international and domestic calendar beyond the summer of 2024 is unclear.

Much depends on his international future, with his participation at the 2026 World Cup unclear

Elsewhere, despite his impressive fitness and physique, the injuries he could face, along with form and fitness concerns, are impossible to predict.

It is also uncertain whether Ronaldo – who is 40 goals ahead of his great rival Messi – will continue to play internationally after next summer. 

Even if form and fitness go to plan for Ronaldo, the challenge of reaching 1,000 goals will be a tough task.

However, it is feasible, and if he was to achieve it, it is likely to come sometime between the summer of 2026 and the end of the 2026-27 season. 

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article