Cristiano Ronaldo continues quest to reach 1,000-goal record after Portugal retirement: How many more goals does he need?

Soccer Football

2026-11-05
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Cristiano Ronaldo has made his quest to reach the 1,000-goal mark a little more difficult after announcing his retirement from international soccer. The Portugal captain is no more, which means his efforts to get to four figures will rest solely on how he performs at club level with Al Nassr.

Thankfully for the former Real Madrid superstar, he is already pretty close.

On Oct. 29, Ronaldo scored a second-half hat trick in the 5-3 Saudi Pro League victory over Al Kholood, taking him to 985 career goals. Even if math isn’t your strong suit, you’ll likely be able to work out that the Portuguese needs just 15 more to hit the magic 1,000 milestone.

When could Cristiano Ronaldo score his 1,000th goal?

Al Nassr have nine games scheduled in the final few weeks of 2026, across the Saudi Pro League, the AFC Champions League, the King’s Cup and the Saudi Super Cup. The postponed Champions League clash against UAE-based Al-Wasl must also be rescheduled, with no date yet set.

The 41-year-old has undoubtedly scored 15 goals in nine or 10 matches before in his career, although his recent scoring rate suggests it’s highly unlikely to happen in the coming weeks.

Statistics show Ronaldo has scored 28 goals in 42 appearances during 2026, an average of 0.67 goals per game. Maintaining that rate would require another 23 appearances to find the net 15 times.

With Al Nassr not playing between Dec. 20 and Feb. 8, that would mean Ronaldo wouldn’t score his 1,000th goal until near the end of April.

Of course, the attacker could continue from where he left off in his last appearance and up his scoring rate in the next few weeks. But to score 15 goals in 10 possible games before the end of 2026, he would need to average a goal and a half per game (again, math qualifications not required), which is considerably more than his recent output.