Cristiano Ronaldo continues to prove that even at 40 there are no limits to his ability. The Portuguese star scored a brace on Saturday in Al-Nassr’s 3-0 win over Al-Okhdood, taking his career tally to 956 official goals — another step toward his stated target of 1,000.
As if that were not enough, the Al-Nassr forward also equaled a record that had stood for more than 60 years, reaching 493 goals scored after the age of 30. The mark was previously held solely by former Arsenal and Fulham striker Ronnie Rooke, who set it in the 1960s.
The statistic further underlines Ronaldo’s extraordinary longevity. Before turning 30 in February 2015, he scored 463 goals in 718 matches. Since then, he has added 493 more — more than any other player in the modern, fully professional era. Rooke, who also played for Crystal Palace, had held the record since retiring in 1961.
Among those celebrating Ronaldo’s latest achievement was his close friend, British journalist Piers Morgan, who praised him on social media: “He never stops scoring. Anywhere in the world, for any team. People can debate who the football GOAT is, but there’s no debate over the game’s greatest, and most relentless goal-scorer. It’s Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Ronaldo himself responded after the match with a brief message to his 105 million followers on X: “Hard work is the path to success.”
The Portuguese star’s consistency is remarkable. He has scored more than 40 goals in 14 different calendar years, with his most prolific season coming in 2013, when he netted 63 goals in all competitions for club and country.
Ronaldo’s next milestone is becoming the first player to reach 1,000 official career goals. He is now just 44 goals away. “I still feel that I contribute, both to the club and to the national team,” he said recently. “As long as I have the motivation — why stop?”