Can Cristiano Ronaldo reach 1,000 goals?

Most footballers would bite your hand off if you offered them 90 goals over the course of a career but, for Cristiano Ronaldo, a record-breaking tally of 900 strikes is simply not enough.

Speaking with former teammate Rio Ferdinand just days before he slotted home the momentous tap-in against Croatia last week, the Portugal icon said, 'my challenge is to be at 1,000 goals'.

Let it not be said that the man lacks ambition. 

Since turning 39 in February, Ronaldo has scored 28 goals, including two in the last four days, showing that former Real Madrid star is showing no signs of letting up.

But wanting and getting are two different things - even for arguably the greatest footballer of all time - and reaching four figures might be a feat that lies beyond his catalogue of capabilities.

Still, Mail Sport have delved into what it would take for Ronaldo to achieve his next head-spinning landmark and where the final 99 goals might come from.

'CR7' might have lit up the international stage in the last week but if he has to make the mighty mille, he will have to knock in a few for his club side Al-Nassr.

Having moved to the Saudi side in January 2023, Ronaldo has nabbed 62 strikes in 68 matches but his contract expires next summer.

Assuming he stays fit for the remainder of his spell at the club, which the Portuguese has a happy knack of doing, he could play 32 league matches and up to 29 matches in various competitions.

If Al-Nassr play, for example, 15 (half) of these tournament games then Ronaldo will be hoping to appear in 47 matches before his potential departure in June. 

Going at his current rate of scoring at the Saudi outfit, he would secure 43 more goals by then although this could vary heavily with any injuries that might occur or a series of early exits from the cups.

So that takes the icon to 944 by next June. But what about Portugal?

The 39-year-old has scored a mind-blowing 80 international goals since the age of 30 - more than Brazil's record scorer Neymar has nabbed in his international career. 

The national side will play four Nations League matches by next Summer, with two more scheduled if they progress to the finals, and, with Ronaldo scoring two in his last six, let's add another couple.

If the icon is stranded at 946 next summer, while possibly searching for a new club, he will require another 54 to slot himself once again into the record books.

The forward might have scored 44 times in the 2023-24 campaign but he has not passed 50 in a season since 2015-16, meaning he will likely have to play until the 2026 World Cup to rack up a kilo of goals.

An emotional Ronaldo seemed to say farewell to his national side after being knocked out of the 2024 Euros by France on penalties, but it would surprise no one if he was leading the team out in Canada, Mexico or the United States in two years.

Indeed, chief among his backers to break the mightiest of all footballing records is his Portugal manager Roberto Martinez.

'I don't think anyone can say that Cristiano can't do something,' he said. 'It is incredible what he is doing in football. 

'But for us the objective is collective. Cristiano can help, it is not just about goals.

'Assists are very important, if he can make 100 assists, I will be very happy.'

When the man himself was asked about making it to the World Cup after Thursday's win over Croatia, he was predictably coy. 

'Portugal winning a Euros is equivalent to a World Cup,' Ronaldo said. 'I've already won two trophies for Portugal that I really wanted.'

Ronaldo added: 'I'm not motivated by that. I'm motivated to enjoy football and records appear in a natural way.

'I don't chase records, they're the ones who chase me.'

Even if Ronaldo does make it to the four-yearly spectacle, his road to 1,000 is likely to all boil down to his choice of club after his Al-Nassr exit.

If he stays in a - to put it politely - slightly less competitive league then the Portugal legend might have just ten or 20 goals to go when the summer of 2026 rolls round. This might be too much for his ambition to resist and the forward might hobble, if necessary, to four figures.

A return to a top European league, or an ill-timed injury, could leave Ronaldo requiring dozens of strikes to reach the target when he turns 41.

Another way of looking at it is to track the number of days it took him to score each set of 100 goals.

Ronaldo had to wait around five-and-a-half years to notch his 100th strike - a calm penalty against Tottenham in January 2008 - but it took the then Real Madrid man just 17 months to fly from 200 to 300.

His latest century? Some 1,008 days went by before the Portuguese star was able to celebrate his 900th. 

While his quickest hundred would get him to 1,000 on February 5, 2026 - his 41st birthday - this tally was achieved at his peak and even Ronaldo would accept those heights would be difficult to rediscover.

At the other end of the scale, if he matched the speed of his most recent leap he would make a grand on June 9, 2027. But, to complicate things further, his road to 900 was stymied somewhat by a frustrating return to Man United where he was eventually cast out by Erik Ten Hag.

The reality? It all depends on injuries and transfers but one thing you cannot fault is a lack of hunger - something which has plagued many a footballer as they reach the twilight stages of their career.

Go at his quickest: he's at four figures by 41. His most recent: 42 and a half. And if he keeps up his current form it will be somewhere in between.

With the footballer slowly focussing more on life away from the pitch, including launching a YouTube channel which now has 59 million subscribers, an exit from the sport he has lit up for 22 years might be imminent.

But wouldn't it just be typical if a greying Ronaldo nodded home a winning header at the next World Cup to achieve the mightiest of all landmarks.