Twenty-three goals and the clock is still ticking
Cristiano Ronaldo is edging towards 1,000 career goals. He has 23 left to score, according to the count Gianni Infantino himself raised during a meeting with the Portuguese star.
The clip has been doing the rounds on social media for the past few hours. Ronaldo opens with a casual, “How are you?” The FIFA president fires back with a number: “You have 23 goals left, right? Good luck!” The striker smiles.
The backdrop gives the exchange extra bite. The relationship between the two men has never exactly looked warm. In Portuguese circles, Infantino is often linked to refereeing calls seen as going Argentina and Lionel Messi’s way.
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Al-Nassr, the final stage
Ronaldo is 41. He scored again for Al-Nassr in his last outing, nudging the symbolic target a little closer.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has recently hinted that he probably has only one more season left at the top level. Twenty-three goals in a campaign at his age, in a Saudi league where he is still producing big numbers, is still within reach. Tight, but possible.
Every goal now carries extra weight. The Portuguese forward has never hidden his obsession with numbers. The 1,000-goal mark is the kind of milestone no player has ever reached, and it would carve out a line all its own in sporting history.
A race against time
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star now has to manage his minutes. More cameos from the bench, fewer full matches. That is the biggest factor in the count.
The Saudi Pro League gives him a friendly setting: defences that are less packed than in Europe, star status in his own team, and a schedule that still hands him enough chances to keep piling up the goals.
Then there is the wear and tear. At 41, a six-week muscle injury could wreck an ambition like this. Infantino said good luck. It may not have been just a throwaway line.
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