´Why not keep going?´ – Ronaldo will not retire before scoring 1,000 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to reach 1,000 career goals before retiring from football, despite his own family questioning whether it is time for him to hang up his boots.

Ronaldo is currently 54 goals short of the landmark, and he will hope to draw closer to four figures during Portugal’s World Cup qualifiers this month.

Portugal host the Republic of Ireland and Hungary in the next six days, with Ronaldo looking to add to his record tally of 141 international goals.

Ronaldo turned 40 in February but remains committed to appearing at the World Cup next year, and he still feels he has multiple seasons left in the tank.

Ronaldo told Canal 11: “People, especially my family, say, ‘It’s time for you to stop. You’ve done everything. Why do you want to score a thousand goals?’

“But I don’t think so. I think I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team, and why not keep going?

“I’m sure that when I finish, I’ll be fulfilled, because I gave it my all. I know I don’t have many more years, but the few I have, I’ll try to enjoy to the fullest.”

Ronaldo has scored four goals in four Saudi Pro League games for Al-Nassr this campaign, and he is already seventh in the competition’s all-time scoring charts, despite only making 81 appearances.

However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner admits he would give up club football before turning his back on the international game.

“I often say that if I could, I would only play football for the national team,” he said.

“I wouldn’t play for any other club because it [international football] is the culmination and the peak of a football player. It’s an honour for me to play for the national team.

“I’m sure the next games will go well and that we will qualify for the World Cup. Obviously, our goal is to go to the World Cup and win it, but we have to take everything step by step.”

Ronaldo has scored 11 goals in his last 11 appearances for Portugal, netting in each of his last five international games (six goals in total).

Only twice before has he netted in six straight international matches, doing so in 2016-2017 (six) and 2019-20 (seven).

He has also scored a brace in two of his last three matches against Saturday’s opponents in Lisbon, the Republic of Ireland.