Cristiano Starts the Final Countdown
For years, Cristiano Ronaldo has treated his age as little more than an inconvenient suggestion. He kept scoring, breaking records and pushing the end of his career further away than anyone could reasonably have expected. Now, for the first time, he has clearly indicated where the finish line may be.
“This is probably my last year in football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy,” the 41-year-old told Vogue.
The most important word is “probably.” Cristiano has not officially announced his retirement and has not set a date for his final match. His contract with Al-Nassr runs until June 2027, and all signs point towards the current season bringing his 25-year professional career to an end.
Ronaldo is already preparing for life without daily training sessions and matches. He wants to travel more, spend time with his family and play padel, a sport he has enjoyed for years. He also has numerous investments and business projects. Ronaldo admitted that football will leave a huge gap in his life, which is why he does not intend to replace it with just one activity.
Before he reaches for the padel racket, however, there is still one piece of unfinished business. Cristiano currently has 976 official goals for club and country. He needs another 24 to reach the almost absurd milestone of 1,000. Given his scoring record, the target remains entirely realistic, although for the first time it is clear that he does not have unlimited time to get there.
A huge part of that total was built at Real Madrid. Between 2009 and 2018, Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 appearances, becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer. He won the Champions League four times with Madrid, and his nine seasons at the Santiago Bernabéu produced records that still look like somebody entered the numbers with the realism settings switched off.
The Portuguese forward did not feature in Al-Nassr’s opening league game of the new season. He watched the 3–0 victory over Al-Fateh from the stands after Ange Postecoglou decided to rest him following his late return to the club. The coach stressed that Ronaldo was not injured and could return for the upcoming Saudi King’s Cup fixture.
His World Cup career has already come to an end. Portugal were eliminated by Spain in the round of 16, losing 1–0, and Ronaldo later confirmed that he would not appear at the tournament again. He has not yet decided whether that defeat was also his final match for the national team.
The final countdown has probably begun. We still do not know the exact date of his farewell, but Ronaldo has now acknowledged it more openly than ever before. Before he walks away, he will try to add the final goals and finish his career with a number fitting for the story: 1,000.
