Cristiano Ronaldo starts 2026 the same way he ended last year: in pursuit of his thousandth career goal.
About to turn 41 in February, the Al-Nassr star takes the field this Friday (2nd), against Al-Ahli, aiming to add more goals to his tally on the way to goal number 1000.
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Currently with 957 goals, the Portuguese star needs 43 more to reach the mystical mark.
The dream scenario for the Portuguese ace, fans, and sponsors would be for the thousandth goal to happen during the 2026 World Cup, in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Although 43 goals may seem like a feasible target for a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, the challenge of reaching it before or during the World Cup demands a performance at the «peak Real Madrid» level.
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Scenario: Between Al-Nassr matches and commitments with the Portuguese national team, CR7 will have between 30 and 40 games until a possible World Cup final.
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Required average: To reach goal 1,000 in the World Cup final, he would need to maintain an average between 1.07 and 1.43 goals per game in the first half of the year.
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Comparison: In 2025, the «forty-year-old» showed he’s still in shape, scoring 41 goals in 46 games (an average of 0.89).
Always competitive but realistic, Cristiano Ronaldo recently joked about the possibility of scoring his thousandth goal in a World Cup final.
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«It would be too perfect. But if that movie came true, I’d retire,» said the striker.
Schedule for the 1st half of 2026
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Al-Nassr: 25 guaranteed matches in the Saudi league, possibly up to 30 with the final stages of the AFC Champions League.
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Portugal: 2 friendlies in March (Mexico and USA), plus 3 guaranteed games in the group stage of the World Cup; advancing to the final would mean 4 or 5 more matches.
🔥 CR7’s Numbers
Overall average at Real Madrid (2009–2018)
Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in the Spanish club’s history and is one of the rare players to maintain an average of over one goal per match for nearly a decade.
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Overall average: 1.03 goals per game
Best Year in Career (2013)
Although the 2014/15 European season was his best in absolute numbers for a club (61 goals), his «calendar year» of 2013 can be considered his peak, combining Real Madrid and the Portuguese National Team.
That year, he posted his highest goals-per-game average:
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Average in best year: 1.16 goals per game
Just for Real Madrid in 2013, he scored 59 goals in 50 games, which gives an even higher average of 1.18 goals per match for the club.
So, guys! Do you think the Portuguese ace will manage to hit his thousandth goal at the World Cup?
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
📸 FAYEZ NURELDINE – AFP or licensors
