Cristiano Ronaldo is coming off his third goal of the season in Al-Nassr‘s 2-1 victory against Abha in the Saudi Pro League, right after he was snubbed from the final 30-man list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or. Following the match, he appeared to send a subtle message on social media.
In a post across his main social media channels, Ronaldo shared an image from the victory alongside the caption “Hard work pays off.” While it could refer to his recovery and rest phase following the 2026 World Cup, it could easily serve as an indirect reminder that he should still be considered for such individual awards.
Ronaldo remains effective and continues to score as fans have grown accustomed to seeing him do so. Against Abha, he converted a trademark goal: connecting with a fine cross into the box, Cristiano rose above everyone else to direct a header toward the far post that proved unstoppable for the opposing goalkeeper.
Getting closer to 1,000 goals
With the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo clears his path forward, as the Portuguese star now has 979 career strikes. He sits just 21 goals away from becoming the first player in history to register 1,000 completely verified and video-documented goals.
Hard work pays off 🟡🔵 pic.twitter.com/V7KmBmA7hO
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) September 9, 2026
This statistical precision sets him apart from past legends like Brazil’s Romario or Pele, who claimed to have surpassed 1,000 goals without possessing a reliable audiovisual record for each of their achievements.
Breakdown of Ronaldo’s 979 official goals
At 41 years old, as he continues to demonstrate his quality and why he is already one of the sport’s greatest legends, the Portuguese star’s FIFA-sanctioned goals are distributed across the Portugal national team and his respective professional clubs as follows:
- Real Madrid (Spain): 450 goals
- Portugal: 146 goals
- Manchester United (England): 145 goals
- Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia): 132 goals
- Juventus (Italy): 101 goals
- Sporting CP (Portugal): 5 goals
- CAREER TOTAL: 979 goals
