How long will it take for Cristiano Ronaldo to score 1000 career goals? | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 956 career goals, leaving him just 44 goals shy of reaching the 1000 landmark, but how long will it take him to reach that milestone?

While most players are already long retired by the time they turn 40, Ronaldo still has the motivation to continue.

Indeed, he recently admitted that he won’t retire until he manages to score his 1000th goal, provided that he stays injury-free.

“It’s hard to continue playing, but I am motivated,” Ronaldo said when speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai.

“My passion is high and I want to continue. It doesn’t matter where I play, whether in the Middle East or Europe. I always enjoy playing football and I want to keep going.

“You know what my goal is. I want to win trophies and I want to reach that number [1,000 goals] that you all know. I will reach the number for sure, if no injuries.”

With that in mind, it got us thinking about how much longer Ronaldo will realistically need to hit that milestone.

Since joining Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has been averaging a goal every 97.8 minutes, having scored 112 goals in 125 appearances for the club.

If he continues to score at that rate, he’ll need to play another 4,303 minutes of football in order to score the remaining 44 goals that he needs.

For context, 4,303 minutes is the equivalent of around 48 matches of football, meaning Ronaldo will likely score his 1000th goal during the 2026-27 season.

As of writing, Al-Nassr have another 24 league matches to play this season and can play a maximum of seven more matches if they make it to the final in the AFC Champions League Two.

If Ronaldo plays every single minute of every remaining match, he’ll play another 2,790 minutes of football at club level between now and the end of the season.

Providing that he continues to score at his current rate, he’ll likely be around the 984 mark before heading to the World Cup next summer.

If Ronaldo can slightly increase his goal output between now and the end of the season, there’s a chance that his 1000th goal could come at the World Cup, which would be quite the moment.

However, this would rely on Ronaldo playing in virtually every game between now and the end of the season and pushing up his current scoring rate.

Indeed, the most likely outcome is that Ronaldo scores his 1000th goal in the opening months of the 2026-27 season, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he could reach the milestone before then.

With Portugal set to face Uzbekistan, Colombia and one of DR Congo, New Caledonia or Jamaica in the group stages at the World Cup, he’ll be fancying his chances of adding a few goals to his tally then.

Given that Portugal are expected to go deep in the tournament next summer, Ronaldo will be expected to be among the top scorers if he remains fit and maintains his starting spot.