‘Shared legacy’ - No way Lionel Messi lets Cristiano Ronaldo reach 1,000 goals alone as former MLS star precincts another GOAT battle

Portuguese superstar Ronaldo is fast closing in on 980 efforts for club and country, with the history books having already been rewritten on a regular basis. Havingrepresented his country at the 2026 World Cup, at the age of 41, he has 146 international strikes to his name.

Remarkable individual standards have been maintained in the Middle East, winning Golden Boots and domestic titles along the way, and there has been talk of a stunning career being extended beyond the expiration of his current contract in the summer of 2027.

Messi is also going strong. At the age of 39, he recently graced a third World Cup final and has earned another Ballon d’Or nod - with eight Golden Balls to his name. MLS Cup glory and successive MVP award wins have been savoured in the United States.

The enigmatic Argentine has called time on his international career - with 207 caps and 125 goals - but remains tied to terms in South Florida through 2028. He is closing in on 930 efforts in total.

When it was put to Hislop that there is no way Messi allows eternal rival Ronaldo to reach four figures without him, the former MLS goalkeeper - speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of King Casino - said: “I think that's what football almost wants to see. I think we've been treated to two players who have defined a generation unlike any other and defined this game unlike few others before them.

“The numbers that Ronaldo puts up, that Lionel Messi continues to put up, is just phenomenal. And Messi shows no signs of slowing down. If we end up with two players over 1,000 goals, that is probably in keeping with their shared legacy in this game.”

There is not much left for Messi and Ronaldo to achieve, given the respective heights that they have scaled. Quizzed on whether the former will be overly concerned about what the latter is up to, another one-time star of MLS and former Manchester United team-mate of Ronaldo, Giuseppe Rossi, previously told GOAL: “I'm not sure. I don't know. Do you think he even knows about that? Do you think he even cares about that?

“Maybe he does deep down, but I think it's two different ways that they approach the game. But I'm sure that Messi will get to 1,000 in the next three years. I think where he's at, he's at Miami until 2028, I'm sure that he'll get there.”

Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder - who left Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 that saw CR7 move to Santiago Bernabeu - has said of two icons pursuing the same target: “I think that's the next goal for both of them, 100%. Cristiano won’t stop before reaching the thousand goals. Messi has signed another two year deal. He will definitely reach one thousand goals as well.

“It's nice that we are still talking about this rivalry with one in MLS and the other in Saudi. They are two big stars and now they’re chasing a different goal of reaching 1,000 goals. Amazing. Maybe we see about counting their assists to find out who can get to 2,000 first.”

Ronaldo has been among the goals again for Al-Nassr at the start of the 2026-27 campaign, while Messi has returned to action at Inter Miami on the back of his World Cup exploits with Argentina.

Questions continue to be asked of how much longer either can go on for, given the stresses that their bodies have been put through down the years, but both seemingly want to play on for as long as possible.