Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his ambition to reach 1,000 career goals while taking a subtle jab at football legends, including Pele.
Ronaldo has suggested that having video evidence of his goals gives him an advantage over legends who played many years ago.
The Portugal captain’s remark came after he reached a career total of 899 goals with his latest strike for Saudi club Al Nassr against Al-Feiha on Tuesday night, per Goal.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner aims to reach 900 goals, with the ultimate target of hitting the remarkable milestone of 1,000.
Pele is often regarded as the highest goalscorer in history, with FIFA recognizing the late Brazilian legend’s tally at 1,281 goals, while the statistics site RSSSF lists his total at 1,284.
However, much of his record includes approximately 550 exhibition matches, with his official match goal count believed to be under 800, fueling an ongoing debate about which records are most accurate.
Ronaldo aims subtle dig at Pele?
Ronaldo discussed his future in a sit-down interview with former Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand on his new YouTube channel.
The 39-year-old knows retirement is not far away, but he has goals to accomplish before he’s ready to hang up his boots.
“Soon I will do 900 and, after, I will beat 1,000,” Ronaldo said.
“I want to reach 1,000 goals. If I don’t have injuries, this, for me, is the most important. It’s the best marker I can have in football, to first reach 900.
“After, my challenge is to reach 1,000 goals. [There will be] one difference: all of my goals have videos, so I can prove that.”
When Ferdinand proposed that Ronaldo’s comments about video evidence were aimed at legends like Pelé and iconic Real Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stéfano, the 39-year-old responded:
“I respect all of them. All the goals [of mine] have videos. I will prove to the people, if they prefer this player… I don’t care about that.”
What’s next for Ronaldo?
Ronaldo is expected to be part of Portugal’s squad for the upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Scotland, per Eurosport.
