Cristiano Ronaldo declares himself 'the best of all time' in CNN Portugal interview as 1,000-goal chase continues

Cristiano Ronaldo said he is "the best of all time, period" in a recent interview with CNN Portugal on Oct. 12, 2026, as he pursues 1,000 career goals.

The 41-year-old forward began October credited with 980 senior goals for club and country after returning to Al-Nassr following the international break. He had left Portugal’s training camp for the September-October break after a quarrel with coach Jorge Jesus but rejoined club training and scored for Al-Nassr last week, extending his scoring run.

Ronaldo is under contract with Al-Nassr until June 2027 and said in August that this may be his final year of football; in September he declined to specify a retirement date. The former Manchester United striker has repeatedly spoken about reaching 1,000 goals and is 20 goals shy of that mark, a milestone he has openly pursued and described as important to his career.

Addressing the attention on the 1,000-goal target, Ronaldo told CNN Portugal: "People aren’t appreciating what I’m doing right now, my goals. They’re more concerned with how many goals I have left to reach 1,000. I don’t like that. I really don’t. Things have to happen naturally. Whether I score 920 goals, 925, 930..."

He also stated in the interview: "I am the best of all time, period. The numbers speak for themselves." Later in the conversation he added: "I’m the greatest in history. Period. When it comes to scoring goals, the numbers speak for themselves. I’m not going to sit here and say that I have to reach 1,000 goals. If I get there, fantastic."

With 980 senior goals recorded at the start of October, Ronaldo requires 20 more to reach the 1,000-goal milestone and remains contracted to Al-Nassr until June 2027.