Al Nassr star, Cristiano Ronaldo may have stepped away from Europe’s top club competitions at the beginning of 2023, but the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star—who turns 41 on February 5—continues to command global attention.
Ronaldo has been open about his ambition to become the first player to score 1,000 professional goals. He currently has 961 to his name and is widely expected to lead Portugal at the 2026 World Cup in North America. If that happens, it would be his sixth appearance at the tournament, a historic milestone that Lionel Messi and Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa are also on track to reach.
Speculation has surfaced this week suggesting Ronaldo could engineer a headline-making return to European football or even switch to MLS. These rumors follow reports of a very public dispute with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which holds majority ownership of Al Nassr, his current club.
Chasing the 1,000-goal mark
Ronaldo’s short-term future remains uncertain, but he will be keen to settle any off-field issues quickly as he continues his pursuit of 1,000 goals. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner needs 39 more to reach the landmark—a target he could realistically hit within a year if he maintains his scoring rate in Saudi Arabia. That projection could change, however, if he opts to move to another league or country.
A scorer at every stage
Remarkably, Ronaldo has found the net at every age since making his professional debut for Sporting CP at 17. Early in his career as a winger, he scored just once at 18, the same year he transferred to Manchester United—numbers that pale in comparison to what followed.
From the age of 21 onward, Ronaldo has almost always produced at least 25 goals per year. The lone exception came at 37, during his difficult second stint with Manchester United.
The peak of CR7
Ronaldo’s most prolific stretch came between ages 25 and 32, when he scored no fewer than 50 goals per year for Real Madrid and Portugal. His standout season arrived at 27, when he struck 67 times across the 2011–12 and 2012–13 campaigns. He followed that up with two more seasons of over 60 goals, playing a key role in Real Madrid’s long-awaited 10th Champions League title.
Even as he approaches his 40s, Ronaldo’s output has barely slowed. After joining Al Nassr, he scored more than 50 goals at both 38 and 39. In the year before his 41st birthday, he added 38 more—almost exactly the number he still needs to reach the historic 1,000-goal milestone.