Cristiano Ronaldo is rapidly moving closer to 1,000 competitive career goals, but could the Portuguese great decide to retire once he gets there? Former Manchester United team-mate Giuseppe Rossi has tried to answer that question for GOAL, as fresh debate continues over the future of the legendary striker with both Al-Nassr and Portugal.

Ronaldo is still going strong at 41 years of age.

Ronaldo has brought up century marks for goals at Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr. He remains Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer with 450 goals to his name, and he is also the highest scorer men’s international football has ever seen, having found the net 146 times in 233 appearances for Portugal.

His final appearance at that level may already have come, at the 2026 World Cup, with the evergreen 41-year-old sparking plenty of animated discussion over his value to that collective cause. He has been accused of becoming an unwanted distraction.

When will Ronaldo reach 1,000 competitive goals?

Others believe CR7 can keep going until Euro 2028 and even beyond, with Portugal due to serve as co-hosts at the 2030 World Cup. It seems unlikely that the iconic forward will still be playing by then, with the family baton expected to be passed on to Cristiano Jr.

There is, however, no indication that Ronaldo is slowing down in the Saudi Pro League. He was on the scoresheet again in his latest outing, taking his overall tally to 977 goals. That leaves him with a realistic chance of reaching four figures before the end of the 2026-27 campaign.

Will Ronaldo retire once that goal milestone has been achieved?

Could Ronaldo choose to step away at that stage, with his lucrative contract in Riyadh also coming to an end? When Rossi, the former United forward, was asked that question while speaking in association with BetBrothers, he 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.”

Speaking further about retirement no longer being part of long-term planning, 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.”

What next for Ronaldo?

Ronaldo has operated at the very highest level of the game for more than 20 years, spending two decades in a constant battle with his eternal rival Lionel Messi for the right to be regarded as the best player in the world, and possibly the greatest ever to wear a pair of boots.

The day will eventually come when he has to walk away, but exactly how near that moment is remains unclear. A few hints have surfaced when it comes to retirement, while there are several exciting paths he could explore afterwards, including the Hollywood film business, once an iconic career packed with enough memories for several lifetimes finally comes to an end.