Ronaldo, 21 Goals From 1,000, Begins Portugal Era Under Jorge Jesus

Cristiano Ronaldo said on September 23, 2026, that reaching 1,000 career goals and winning the UEFA Nations League with Portugal are now his two defining targets, speaking at the Portugal Football Summit near Lisbon a day before his side opens its Nations League campaign against Wales under new head coach Jorge Jesus.

Ronaldo, 41, has scored 979 official goals across his club and international career — 833 for club sides and 146 for Portugal — leaving him 21 short of the 1,000 mark, according to Reuters, which reported his remarks from the summit at the Portuguese Football Federation’s headquarters outside Lisbon. “One goal is to achieve both – reaching 1,000 goals and the national team trying to win this Nations League,” Ronaldo said, according to Reuters. He added that a 1,000th goal scored in Portugal’s colors would be “the icing on the cake.”

The comments mark Ronaldo’s clearest public statement yet on the milestone since his 979th goal, a header scored in Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win over Abha in the Saudi Pro League on September 9, 2026, at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, a match in which he was named Player of the Match, according to ESPN.

Who, What, When, Where, Why

Ronaldo made the remarks on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at the Portugal Football Summit, a day before Portugal’s UEFA Nations League A, Group 4 opener against Wales at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon on Thursday, September 24, 2026, kicking off at 18:45 GMT (19:45 local time), according to Al Jazeera and Goal.com match previews. The remarks come as Jorge Jesus takes charge of his first competitive match as Portugal head coach, having replaced Roberto Martínez after Portugal’s 1-0 round-of-16 exit to Spain at the 2026 World Cup, as reported by Fox Sports and India Today.

“The Portugal captain is also closing in on 1,000 career goals, having scored 979 so far,” India Today noted in its report on Jesus’s first squad selection, published September 18, 2026. Ronaldo has not set a retirement date, despite widespread speculation; Reuters reported he “refused to draw a clear line on retirement” during Wednesday’s summit appearance.

The Numbers Behind the Milestone

No player in the history of competitive senior football has reached 1,000 goals, a landmark that has made Ronaldo’s chase one of the most closely tracked storylines in the sport this year. The table below breaks down his verified tally as of September 23, 2026.

Ronaldo’s most recent goal, his 979th, came via a downward header in the 22nd minute of Al-Nassr’s win over Abha on September 9, according to WorldSoccerTalk, which noted the goal put him ahead of Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League record books for the current campaign. He is currently in his fourth season at Al-Nassr, the Saudi Pro League club he joined in December 2022.

Jorge Jesus’s Skepticism Over Where the Milestone Will Fall

Jesus, who managed Ronaldo at Al-Nassr before taking the Portugal job, has publicly questioned whether the 1,000th goal will come in a Portugal shirt at all. “I think he’s more likely to score his thousandth goal for Al-Nassr than for the Portuguese national team,” Jesus said, a quote reported by Fox Sports, The News International and India Today around his first squad announcement on September 18, 2026.

Despite the skepticism over the exact venue of the milestone, Jesus included Ronaldo in his first squad without hesitation. “If he is going to play, he will perform his role. It is his performance that matters,” Jesus told reporters at his squad-announcement press conference on September 18, according to Goal.com, which also reported Jesus saying the Ballon d’Or “do not concern” him when picking players. Jesus previously coached Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, during which the forward scored 29 goals in 33 appearances under him, according to beIN Sports.

Portugal enter the match as reigning UEFA Nations League champions, having won the competition in 2025, and Thursday’s fixture opens their defense of the title in the newly structured 2026-27 edition. It is Jesus’s first match in charge after replacing Martínez, who departed following Portugal’s World Cup exit to Spain earlier this year.

Wales and Craig Bellamy’s Admiration

Wales, managed by Craig Bellamy, open their own Nations League A, Group 4 campaign against Portugal on the same night, in what BBC Sport described as Bellamy’s first major test since taking permanent charge of the national side. Bellamy, who won 78 caps as a Wales international during his playing career, spoke admiringly of Ronaldo ahead of the match. “It’s awe-inspiring to see him continue to perform at such a high level; that’s the honest truth,” Bellamy said, according to BBC Sport. “You can’t help but be amazed by him. A thousand goals? Seriously?”

Bellamy added a competitive caveat to his praise. “I hope he reaches that milestone, but I hope he doesn’t find success tomorrow against us,” he said, in comments carried by BBC Sport ahead of kickoff. A separate version of the same remarks, reported by BBC Sport’s Welsh football desk, quoted Bellamy saying: “I hope he gets it, but I hope he gets nothing tomorrow. It starts after us.”

Ronaldo is set to earn his 234th Portugal cap should he start on Thursday, according to Tribal Football’s lineup preview. Flashscore data cited in match previews shows Ronaldo has 18 goal involvements in his last 20 Nations League appearances for Portugal, comprising 15 goals and three assists.

A New Era After a Painful World Cup Exit

Jesus’s appointment follows one of the more turbulent stretches of Ronaldo’s international career. Portugal, one of the pre-tournament favorites, were eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup by Spain, 1-0, a result that led directly to Martínez’s departure and Jesus’s hiring, as confirmed by Fox Sports and India Today. Jesus’s first squad, announced on September 18, retained the bulk of Martínez’s final World Cup selection while adding four new faces: goalkeeper Samuel Soares, defender Nuno Tavares, midfielder João Palhinha and forward Fábio Silva, according to a report from the Herald News.

Speaking at Wednesday’s summit, Ronaldo framed his continued involvement as driven by unfinished business rather than personal statistics alone. According to a report carried by Punch Nigeria citing a post from journalist Fabrizio Romano, Ronaldo said: “The missions now are two: win the Nations League and reach 1,000 goals.” He also addressed the intensity of the public attention on the milestone, telling reporters at the summit, in comments reported by AfricaSoccer: “I don’t think I have ever spoken to this many people before.”

Ronaldo’s longevity at the top level continues to be remarkable by historical standards. He has scored in bursts throughout September, and his tally under Jesus at Al-Nassr last season — 29 goals in 33 matches — has been cited repeatedly by outlets as evidence he retains the sharpness to reach the four-figure mark, regardless of which team he is wearing when he gets there.

Timeline: Ronaldo’s Path to the Milestone

• September 9, 2026 — Ronaldo scores his 979th career goal in Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win over Abha, named Player of the Match.
• September 18, 2026 — Jorge Jesus names his first Portugal squad, including Ronaldo, and says he is more likely to reach 1,000 goals with Al-Nassr than with Portugal.
• September 23, 2026 — Ronaldo tells the Portugal Football Summit his twin goals are 1,000 career goals and Nations League success; Craig Bellamy praises him ahead of the Wales match.
• September 24, 2026 — Portugal face Wales at Estádio José Alvalade in Jesus’s first match in charge and the opening fixture of Portugal’s Nations League title defense.

The milestone chase adds another layer of attention to a Portugal squad already under scrutiny following the team’s underwhelming World Cup finish. Ronaldo’s situation echoes broader questions facing veteran stars extending their careers into their forties, a theme that has also surfaced around this year’s Ballon d’Or conversation involving Jude Bellingham, whom José Mourinho recently called a candidate for the award.

How We Know

The goal tally, quotes and squad details in this report are drawn from Ronaldo’s own remarks at the Portugal Football Summit on September 23, 2026, as reported by Reuters and BBC Sport, alongside Jorge Jesus’s press-conference comments from September 18 carried by Fox Sports, Goal.com and India Today, and Craig Bellamy’s pre-match remarks reported by BBC Sport. Statistical details on Ronaldo’s goal tally and appearances were cross-checked against ESPN and WorldSoccerTalk match reports. This article does not cover the full match result of Portugal vs. Wales, which had not yet kicked off at the time of publication.

What Happens Next

Portugal’s Nations League A, Group 4 campaign continues with further fixtures over the following days after Thursday’s match against Wales, as the team plays four matches in ten days at the start of the new UEFA Nations League cycle, according to Yahoo Sports’ broadcast preview. Ronaldo remains without a confirmed retirement date from international football, despite continued speculation reported by outlets including NBC Sports, and his club commitment with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League continues alongside his pursuit of the 1,000-goal milestone.

Whether that milestone arrives in Al-Nassr yellow or Portugal red remains, by Jesus’s own admission, an open question — one that will follow Ronaldo through the rest of Portugal’s Nations League campaign and into the 2026-27 club season. For now, Thursday’s match against Wales marks the first concrete test of Jesus’s Portugal, and another chance for Ronaldo to close the gap on a number no player has ever reached.

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Sources

• Reuters — reuters.com
• BBC Sport — bbc.co.uk
• BBC Sport — bbc.co.uk
• Ronaldo eyes 1,000-goal ‘icing on the cake’ as Portugal begin new era — gulf-times.com
• How close is Cristiano Ronaldo to 1000 goals after … — sports.yahoo.com

Photo: Anish Morarji from St Albans, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons