Cristiano Ronaldo has mostly filled his trophy case, but he is still chasing an unprecedented milestone of 1,000 official career goals in competitive football.
While other legends of the game like Pelé and Romário claimed otherwise when adding in friendly matches, Ronaldo seeks to be the first to reach the mark through competitive professional matches.
His journey began at Sporting CP with five goals, followed by 145 total goals across two stints at Manchester United. His most prolific period occurred at Real Madrid, where he scored 450 goals, before adding 101 at Juventus and 129 for his current club, Al Nassr.
Combined with a record 143 international goals for Portugal (with eight goals at the World Cup), Ronaldo continues to increase his tally as he approaches this statistical landmark.
We will be tracking Ronaldo’s progress game-by-game as he marches toward another career milestone.
Here’s the latest on Ronaldo:
Ronaldo went scoreless in Portugal’s World Cup opener against DR Congo, finishing the match without a goal or an assist. Despite attempting three shots during the game, he couldn’t find the back of the net.
Ronaldo’s next chance to bounce back comes on June 23, when Portugal takes on Uzbekistan.
Portugal’s World Cup Schedule
Despite his knack for finding the back of the net and having played in six World Cup tournaments, Ronaldo is not among the top goalscorers at soccer’s biggest tournament. Here are among the players in front of him.
T1. Miroslav Klose (Germany) — 16 goals
T1. Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 16 goals
3. Ronaldo (Brazil) — 15 goals
T4. Gerd Müller (Germany) — 14 goals
T4. Kylian Mbappé (France) — 14 goals
5. Just Fontaine (France) — 13 goals
6. Pelé (Brazil) — 12 goals
Ronaldo only scored one goal during the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo had a relatively quiet 2022 World Cup, scoring just once throughout the tournament. That goal came from the penalty spot against Ghana in Portugal’s opening match, making him the first male player in history to score in five different World Cup tournaments.
Portugal reached the quarterfinals, but at age 37, Ronaldo saw his minutes reduced after losing his starting role to younger teammates. Now, just four years later, time may be catching up with one of the all-time greats as Ronaldo looks to make one final impact on soccer’s biggest stage.
Ronaldo scored four goals during the 2018 World Cup.
