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Cristiano Ronaldo has set himself the target of 1,000 career goals after scoring twice for Portugal on Friday night.
The 38-year-old scored twice as his side won 3-2 to ensure qualification for next summer’s European Championships in Germany.
Despite entering the final stages of his career, Ronaldo is still going strong for club and country.
After the game with Portugal, Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto made a move challenging the forward to reach 1,000 career goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring twice for Portugal against Slovakia
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And Ronaldo has now accepted that challenge, with the striker having scored 857 goals so far.
“It will be very difficult, but it is about my mentality and my motivation,” he said. The former Manchester United star is believed to be keen to stay with Al-Nassr for a few more years.
“If, physically, my legs treat me the same way I treat them… we’ll see, these are baby steps.
“To get to 1,000, you first have to get to 900.
“I think I’ll get there.”
Many people wrote off Ronaldo 12 months ago.
He struggled during his second season at United, re-signing for the club in the summer of 2021.
Eric ten Hag felt that Ronaldo was not a player capable of leading the line every week.
And he left United by mutual consent after an explosive interview in which he criticized the club and their controversial owners, the Glazer family.
Ronaldo also struggled for Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar, scoring only once as his team exited in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The veteran also lost his place in Portugal’s starting eleven, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Goncalo Ramos preferred instead.
But since moving to Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has rediscovered his best form and is now unstoppable once again for both club and country.
Portugal boss Roberto Martínez heaped praise on his No. 7 after his heroics against Slovakia, insisting he leads by example.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is having a great time, playing many minutes and scoring many goals for his club,” Martínez said.
“He has a lot of experience with the national team and is a reference point for the young players.”
“We won the match with a very good performance in the first half,” he said.
“The important thing was the result. In seven games we have shown an ideal attitude. I am very satisfied, but this is only a stage.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the match there were claims that Ronaldo faced 99 lashes in Iran for hugging a female fan.
However, the Iranian Embassy in Madrid has clarified the position and insists that this is not the case.
Portugal have won all seven of their matches so far in Euro 2024 qualifying and have gained 21 points.
latest developments:
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez praises Cristiano Ronaldo against Slovakia
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He has scored 27 goals during that period and the goal conceded against Slovakia was the first he had conceded in the group stage.
