Goals are good, but the most important thing in football is something else for me now: Cristiano Ronaldo
Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo provided a sneak peek of his priorities after starring in his team's AFC Champions League Elite win on Monday (November 25).
Ronaldo, 39, bagged a brace as Stefano Pioli's side beat Al-Gharafa 3-1 at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner broke the deadlock in the 46th minute before adding another after Angelo Gabriel had also scored.
Following his 912nd and 913th career goals, Ronaldo acknowledged the importance of goals but added that the team's victory and making fans happy is more important (as per GOAL):
"The presence of the public and their joy is what keeps my passion high, especially the children. We have a lot of fans of all ages supporting us, I am very happy to score and make them happy. Goals are good, of course, but the most important thing is to win. For me, the most important thing is Al-Nassr's victory. "
About his team's performance, Ronaldo said:
"Al Gharafa are a good team, and the reason for our victory was the organisation of our team. My first and last objective is to win. Goals come after teamwork and my focus is always on scoring and winning.
"If the team wins, I'm happy, and I dedicate the victory to the fans, the club and Ronaldo's fans. We created chances in the first half, but we couldn't score. In the second half, the team made some adjustments, and the goals came."
The win took Al-Alami to within two points of leaders Al-Ahli Saudi in Group B of the AFC Champions League Elite after five games. They next take on Damac on Friday (November 29) in the Saudi Pro League, where they trail leaders Al-Ittihad (30) by eight points after 11 games.
"I want to reach 1000 goals" - What Cristiano Ronaldo said before reaching 900 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the best players in history and is the game's most prolific scorer. The Al-Nassr captain reached a landmark 900th career goal against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League in September.
Just before reaching the landmark, Ronaldo had told his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand about his ambition to scale Mount 1000. He said (as per ESPN):
"I want to reach 1,000 goals. If I don't have any injuries, this for me is the most important (thing), I want that. For me, the best mark that I can have in football is to reach, first, 900 goals. After, my challenge is to be at 1,000 goals."
An AI model recently predicted that Cristiano Ronaldo - if he continues playing without major injuries - should reach 1000 goals in August 2028.
