Cristiano Ronaldo reached another milestone on September 6, scoring his 900th career goal. The 39-year-old scored the winner in Portugal's 2-1 win over Croatia in the Nations League. Nuno Mendes crossed from the left for Ronaldo to tap in from close range in the 34th minute. It was a familiar style of scoring since his time at Real Madrid.
The goal prompted an emotional reaction from Ronaldo, who fell to the ground and cried. Last month, the Portuguese told former teammate Rio Ferdinand that his goal was to score 1,000 goals.
And the former Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus striker is now just 100 goals away from that target. CR7 now has 131 international goals and 769 club goals in 1,236 games.
Ronaldo 's first goals came in 2002, when he scored twice in a 3-0 win over Sporting. CR7 only scored a total of five goals for the Lisbon-based club before moving to Man United in the 2003-2004 season.
Ronaldo's start at Old Trafford was a mixture of promise and disappointment. Despite not being a bad player, he had to wait until November 1, 2003, to score his first goal for the club, against Portsmouth. His 27-game goalless run, from December 2002 to November 2003, was the longest period of his career without a goal.
The 39-year-old striker scored a total of 118 goals in 293 games during his first spell at Old Trafford, including goals against Fulham in the 2006-07 season, Portsmouth in the 2007-08 season, Porto and Arsenal in the 2008-09 season, and a stunning header in the 2008 Champions League final. He is also the tournament's all-time leading scorer with 140 goals.
In the summer of 2009, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee at the time of around £80 million. At the Bernabeu, CR7 began the most explosive scoring period of his career.
The Portuguese averaged more than a goal per game for Los Blancos, with 450 goals in 438 games. He won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and four Champions Leagues. CR7's most prolific scoring season was 2011-12, with 69 goals in 69 games for club and country.
In 2018, Ronaldo moved to Juventus, where he scored 101 goals in three seasons before returning to Man United in 2021. His second spell with the "Red Devils" did not go smoothly. CR7 scored 27 goals in 54 games before moving to Al Nassr. Ronaldo has now scored 68 goals for the Saudi Arabian club.
Ronaldo will turn 40 in February next year and at his current scoring rate, he could reach the 1,000-goal mark if he plays until he is at least 41.
CR7 has scored 57 goals for club and country in the 2023-2024 season, including 50 goals for Al Nassr. Therefore, at the current rate, he could reach 1,000 goals by the end of the 2025-2026 season.
