“Will be an incredible achievement” - Ex-Manchester United star backs Cristiano Ronaldo to reach staggering goal record and play ‘deep into his 40s’ 

Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to reach 1000 career goals and play for even longer. The legendary striker has already blown past the 900-goal mark, becoming the first player in history to do so, and he could well become the first to hit 1000.

Ronaldo now plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, while regularly performing for the Portugal national team. This season, he has already scored 10 goals and provided two assists in 12 Saudi Pro League games, and he looks on track to continue this goalscoring form.

Silvestre has shared his expectations that the 39-year-old legend, who currently has 916 career goals as of December 7, will hit the 1000-goal mark. The former Manchester United defender said to Boyle Sports (via GOAL):

"Cristiano Ronaldo will reach 1,000 goals and it will be an incredible achievement. For someone to start their career as a winger and then score more goals than Pele is outstanding, I do believe he will score his 1,000th goal because when he puts his mind to something, he achieves it.

“He plays every minute in the Saudi league and scores both from penalties and from open play, he is one of the top performers and I don’t see any downgrade in his performances. He is at a level which I think he can remain at for a long time, I think he will play deep into his 40s and break the 1,000 goal barrier and it will be an amazing achievement.”

Cristiano Ronaldo will take the pitch again after Saudi Arabian clubs return from their winter break in January. He will lead Al-Nassr to face Al Akhdoud in their league clash on January 9 at the Al-Awwal Park.

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What has Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo said about reaching the 1000-goal mark

The former Manchester United striker has shared his uncertainty about reaching the 1000-career goal mark before he retires. Ronaldo spoke about this after being awarded a prestigious trophy in his home country back in November.

Despite crossing the 900-goal mark, the football legend explained that he is no longer thinking about long term (via GOAL):

“I now face my life as living in the moment. I can't think long term anymore. I said publicly that I wanted to reach 1,000 goals, but it seems that now everything is easy, just last month I reached 900.

"It's about living in the moment, seeing how my legs will respond in the next few years. If I reach 1,000 goals, that's fine, but if I don't, I'm already the player with the most goals in history.”

Indeed, Cristiano Ronaldo currently has the most career goals in history. The Portuguese icon is closely followed by legendary Argentine Lionel Messi, who has scored 850 career goals.