I am football's greatest, will quit when motivation is gone: Ronaldo

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has said he is the greatest player to have emerged in the history of world football and that there is no room for further debate on the matter. Ronaldo, 41, who now plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, made the claim in an interview with CNN Portugal. In the interview, Ronaldo expressed concern that the media and supporters do not value the football he is currently producing and the goals he is scoring. Speaking about his pursuit of 1,000 career goals, Ronaldo said people focus too much on how many goals remain for him to reach the milestone. According to Ronaldo, his records make clear who the best player is. "People are too worried about reaching 1,000 goals and talk about 85 goals or fewer remaining. But I don't want it that way. Things have to happen on their own. Even if I score 920, 925 or 930 goals, I am the best player to have emerged in history," Ronaldo said in the interview. Ronaldo's comments are backed by his statistics. He has scored 980 goals in 1,337 official matches for club and national team, earning the honor of being the player with the most goals in football history. Over his long career, he has won the Ballon d'Or, awarded to the world's best player, five times. He has also won the Champions League, Europe's most prestigious competition, five times. Discussing the debate over the world's best player, or the "GOAT", Ronaldo said he respects people who say Lionel Messi, Pelé or Maradona are better based on their personal preferences. But Ronaldo said he does not see a more complete player than himself even in football history. He described himself as a player with no equal in every way, scoring with his right and left foot, with his head, from free kicks and from penalties. Although reports circulated that the Portuguese federation was going to take action over his sudden departure from the Portugal national team camp, Ronaldo said he still has no thought of retiring from the national team. He said he will stop playing on the day his motivation is lost, but added that he does not know what will happen tomorrow, making clear he is not thinking too much about ending his career. The report was authored by Ismail Shah and published on 13 October 2026.