Will Cristiano Ronaldo retire after reaching 1,000 goals? Former Man Utd team-mate of Portuguese GOAT admits end is ‘nearing’ for Al-Nassr superstar

Ronaldo has become a goal-getting centurion at Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr. He is the Blancos’ all-time leading scorer, with 450 efforts to his name, and the greatest marksman that men’s international football has ever seen - with the target being found on 146 occasions through 233 appearances for his country.

A last outing at that level may have already been taken in, at the 2026 World Cup, with the evergreen 41-year-old generating plenty of lively discussion regarding his value to that collective cause. He stands accused of having become an unwelcome distraction.

Others are backing CR7 to play on towards Euro 2028 and beyond - with Portugal set to fill co-hosting duties at the 2030 World Cup. It appears unlikely that the iconic frontman will still be turning out at that stage - with the family baton being passed on to Cristiano Jr.

There is, however, no sign of Ronaldo slowing down in the Saudi Pro League. He was among the goals again in his latest game, taking him to 977 efforts in total. There is the potential for four figures to be reached before the end of the 2026-27 campaign.

Would Ronaldo be tempted to bow out at that point, with his lucrative contract in Riyadh coming to a close? When that question was put to Rossi, the ex-United star - speaking in association with BetBrothers - told GOAL: “Will Cristiano Ronaldo retire after he scores his 1,000th goal? Maybe.

“I think it’s still one of the reasons he’s continued to stick around because at this point it’s no longer about winning trophies or any other awards. It’s become personal for him to try and achieve everything he wants to achieve. He’s one of the most ambitious people out there in the world today, even outside of football, and if puts his mind to it, and wants to go beyond that 1,000th goal, he will go on and do that too.

“He’ll get there. He’ll score 1,000 goals. He’s already a player we should all celebrate, and a player to learn from, and when he does hang up his boots, he will rightly go down as one of the best players to play the game, ever.”

On retirement no longer forming part of long-term thinking, Rossi added: “I do think that time is nearing for him, and that’s a shame because we want to see all these players play at every World Cup and keep bringing in the headlines, and I was rooting for him all summer.

“I wanted him to score in every single game. All the people that were talking about him, I wanted him to go and shut them up a little bit, and I mean he scored three goals at the World Cup at 41 years of age. I think that’s amazing but what a career and what a player."

Ronaldo has been gracing the very top of the game for over 20 years, with two decades spent locking horns with eternal rival Lionel Messi for the right to be considered the best player on the planet - and potentially the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots.

A day will come in which he has to walk away, but how close we are to that date remains to be seen. The odd hint has been dropped when it comes to calling it quits, with there plenty of exciting avenues for him to explore - such as the Hollywood movie business - once an iconic career has been brought to a close with enough memories being made to last several lifetimes.