Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo sparked some playful banter with his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand, Soccernet.football reports.
The former Real Madrid superstar, currently playing for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, has set his sights on an extraordinary milestone: scoring 1,000 competitive goals before hanging up his boots.
At 39 years old, Ronaldo has already achieved an astonishing 899 goals for club and country, surpassing the official tally of Brazilian legend Pele, whose record stands at 757 goals in senior-level matches.
Although Pele’s career total is often cited as 1,279 goals, many of those were scored in friendly matches, which are not recognised in modern football records.
In a recent interview, Ronaldo confidently declared his intention to reach 1,000 goals, noting that all of his goals would be backed by video evidence—a subtle dig at Pele’s disputed goal count.
“Soon I will do 900 and after that it will be 1,000,” Ronaldo stated, prompting a surprised Ferdinand to exclaim: “F hell, how old you going be then?”
Ronaldo humorously responded, “41, I don’t know. If I don’t have injuries, that is most important, I want that. My challenge is to reach 1,000 goals, with one difference – all the goals that I score will have video. So I can prove that.”
Realizing the jest, Ferdinand laughed and called Ronaldo a “b” for the remark. Ronaldo, however, emphasized his respect for legendary players like Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano, and Eusebio, while maintaining his confidence in his own abilities.
Despite approaching 40, Ronaldo remains determined to continue his illustrious career.
“I know I’m still looking good. I feel I can still dribble, shoot, score goals, jump. The day that I feel I cannot produce anything, I pack my bags and I go away, but I feel far from that,” Ronaldo said, leaving little doubt that his pursuit of 1,000 goals is more than just a dream.