File Photo – Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring during the 2026 World Cup Group F qualifying soccer match between Portugal and Hungary in Lisbon, October 14, 2025. (AP Photo) DUBAI: Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his determination to score 1,000 goals by the end of his career. And the 40-year-old Portuguese superstar has no doubt he will get there. “I will definitely reach that number if I don’t get injured,” Ronaldo said late Sunday at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, where he was named the best player in the Middle East. Ronaldo moved to 956 career goals by scoring twice for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday. His tally includes a men’s international record of 143 goals for Portugal, which Ronaldo should lead into next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Ronaldo – a five-time world player of the year – will be 41 by the time the World Cup begins. “I’m still very motivated to continue,” the former Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus forward said on stage after receiving the award. “It doesn’t matter (where) I play – in the Middle East, in Europe – I always enjoy playing football, winning trophies, scoring goals and I want to keep doing that.” “You know what my goal is: I want to win more trophies and I want to reach a number that you will all know. The World Cup is one of the few trophies missing from Ronaldo’s collection. In 2016, he won the European Championship with Portugal.
