Ronaldo insists he's the GOAT as 1000-goal milestone approaches

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FT Desk

Cristiano Ronaldo insists he's the greatest footballer in history regardless of whether he reaches 1,000 career goals or not.

The superstar hit headlines over the international break when he departed the Portugal squad and headed back to Saudi Arabia after being an unused substitute for the Nations League game against Norway.

It raised questions about whether Ronaldo would play for Portugal again as the disagreement comes with him at 41 years old, with chances to represent his country again at a premium.

After Jesus previously said the door was open for Ronaldo to return, the player released a lengthy statement on Instagram revealing that the head coach broke a promise to give him 30 minutes of action against Norway.

Ronaldo did concede that he should probably be punished for the walkout, however, and has assured fans that he has not retired from the national team.

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He subsequently spoke with CNN Portugal and took the time to talk about his GOAT status.

“People are not valuing the form I am in, my goals,” he said, with quotes carried by the Athletic.

“Things have to happen naturally," he added, when asked about reaching the milestone of 1,000 career goals scored.

“If I scored 920 goals, 925, 930 … the best in history is me, full stop. The numbers speak for themselves. If I get there (to 1,000 goals), it is amazing, an objective, but I don’t think long-term.”

At the moment, Ronaldo has scored 980 goals in 1,337 professional matches for club and country.

The clock is apparently ticking for CR7 to score those 20 extra goals, as he previously revealed that he will likely retire from football at the end of his current campaign with Al-Nassr.

When asked again about his long-term future, Ronaldo said: “I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Maybe I wake up demotivated and don’t want to play anymore, I just don’t know.”

In the aforementioned statement, Ronaldo mentioned that he hopes to return to action for Portugal for at least one farewell match.

His eternal rival, Lionel Messi, was honoured with a farewell match with Argentina in Buenos Aires last week.