"It won't just depend on him" - Former Al-Nassr coach responds when asked if Cristiano Ronaldo can reach 1000-goal milestone
Former Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro has responded when asked whether Cristiano Ronaldo would reach the coveted 1000-goal mark in his career. The Portuguese tactician managed the Knights of Najd for one season before being sacked in September 2024.
Cristiano Ronaldo entered the exclusive 900-goal club in Portugal's UEFA Nations League opener against Croatia on September 5 at Estadio da Luz. After Diogo Dalot's 7th-minute strike, Ronaldo netted his 900th goal in the 34th minute to extend the lead to 2-0. A Selecao won the game 2-1.
In an interview with MARCA (published on October 16), Luis Castro spoke about the prospect of Cristiano Ronaldo reaching 1000 goals for club and country combined before hanging up his boots.
"It won't depend on him, but on the context. We tried to get the most out of Cris and we managed to get him to end 2023 as the top scorer of the year. I hope he has a favorable environment around him and surpasses the 1,000 goal mark," said Luis Castro.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been in scintillating form this season, having already netted eight goals and laid out three assists in nine games for Al-Nassr across competitions. Last season, he broke the record for the most goals scored in a single season in the Saudi Pro League by netting 35 in 31 games.
Ronaldo ended the season with an impressive 44 goals and 13 assists in 45 matches for Al-Nassr across competitions.
The Portuguese currently has 906 goals in 1244 games with an average of 0.73 goals per game. At this rate, he would reach the coveted 1000-goal mark in approximately 1374 games, i.e., 130 games later.
"All the goals that I score, they have videos so I can prove," - When Cristiano Ronaldo took a dig at past legends
Cristiano Ronaldo made a cheeky remark about his goalscoring record while talking to his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, UR . Cristiano.
Talking about his goalscoring numbers, he claimed that all his goals are well documented and have video footage proving the same. He further claimed that the Portuguese icon could bring more footage of him scoring goals from training (via YouTube).
"For me, the best milestone that one can reach in football is to reach first at 900 goals. After that, my challenge is to be 1000 goals - with one difference. All the goals that I score, they have videos so I can prove. They all have videos. And if you want more goals, I can bring from the training too. So there's no problem."
Cristiano Ronaldo's comments could be aimed at Brazillian legend Pele's mammoth record. According to Guinness World Records, the Santos Superstar has scored 1283 goals during his playing career, which stretched from 1956 to 1977.
However, many pundits doubt that number because of the lack of documented footage to prove the statistic. Also, many goals were scored in unofficial games, further casting doubt on the seemingly insurmountable number.
