Ronaldo vows to stay with Portugal at 41 as 1,000-goal landmark looms

Cristiano Ronaldo has reaffirmed his commitment to the Portugal national team and declared he will reach 1,000 career goals, speaking at the Portugal Football Summit near Lisbon on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Wales.

The 41-year-old captain, who has scored 979 goals across club and international football — 833 at club level and 146 for Portugal — admitted he considered stepping away after Portugal’s World Cup exit at the hands of eventual champions Spain, but said conversations with the Portuguese FA and new head coach Jorge Jesus convinced him to continue.

“They count on me. I still believe that I’m able to help the national team,” Ronaldo said. “If the manager doesn’t count on me, I can leave today — no problem at all. When I feel that I’m not doing anything here, that I’m not contributing on the pitch, not scoring goals, creating a bad atmosphere, or that they don’t want me here, I’ll be the first to pack my bags.”

Jesus, who replaced Roberto Martinez following Portugal’s World Cup elimination, takes charge of the national side for the first time in Thursday’s fixture. Ronaldo was measured in his praise, expressing hope rather than expectation: “It’s a new era with manager Jorge Jesus, whom we all know well; I just hope things go well for him.”

Asked whether winning the Nations League or reaching 1,000 goals was the greater priority, Ronaldo smiled and chose both. He added that reaching the milestone in a Portugal shirt would carry particular meaning. “Scoring my 1,000th goal for the national team would be the culmination of something — a beautiful story,” he said. “It wouldn’t be the end of it, but it would be a beautiful story.”

Despite the obvious significance of the target, Ronaldo was careful to frame it as motivation rather than fixation. “I’ve already admitted that I want to get there, and I will get there. An obsession? No. The rest is about enjoying it, enjoying every day.”

On the subject of retirement, he declined to set a timeline, returning to a philosophy he said he had adopted in his late thirties. “I learnt something from my late 30s onwards, which is to live in the moment, don’t think about tomorrow,” he said.