(The Turkish Post) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 980th goal of his career on Friday, Oct. 9, as Al-Nassr beat Diriyah 3-0 in the Saudi Pro League, in his first match since he walked out of the Portugal national team camp after a row with coach Jorge Jesus.
The 41-year-old forward opened the scoring in the 23rd minute in Riyadh. The goal leaves him 20 short of 1,000 official goals, a mark no player in men’s football has reached.
Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Al-Nassr with a goal
Ronaldo struck after a shot by Kingsley Coman was saved, and he had an earlier effort ruled out for offside. Midfielder Samu Costa doubled the lead before halftime, and Coman added the third in the 77th minute.
Ronaldo celebrated in front of the home fans at the corner flag, where teammates including Joao Felix joined him. The win moved Al-Nassr, the defending champions, up to second place in the league table.
Al-Nassr also field Senegal forward Sadio Mane. Ronaldo joined the Riyadh club in January 2023 after leaving Manchester United, and in 2025 he signed a contract extension that runs until 2027.
Row with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus
Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen on Sept. 30, the day before a Nations League match against Denmark. His departure came after Jesus told a news conference that Ronaldo would not start the game.
The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed that he had left and said preparations would continue with the remaining 24 players in the squad. Jesus denied any rift, saying “there was no incident whatsoever.”
In a later statement, Cristiano Ronaldo accused Jesus of failing to keep his word about his playing time during the international window. Jesus coached Ronaldo at Al-Nassr before taking the Portugal job.
Portugal won without him. They beat Denmark 4-2 at Parken Stadium on Oct. 1, with goals from Joao Cancelo, Goncalo Ramos, Vitinha and Joao Felix, after a 2-1 win over Norway in which Ronaldo started on the bench. Portugal lead their Nations League group with three wins from three matches.
The federation has not announced any disciplinary action. Reports in Portugal have said Ronaldo could face a ban of up to six months, which would rule him out of the national team’s next fixtures.
A career built on goals
Cristiano Ronaldo began his professional career at Sporting Lisbon before moving to Manchester United in 2003. He went on to play for Real Madrid, where he became the club’s all-time top scorer, and for Juventus, before a second spell at Manchester United.
He has won the Ballon d’Or five times and the Champions League five times. With Portugal, he won the European Championship in 2016 and the Nations League in 2019 and 2025.
Cristiano Ronaldo, born on the Portuguese island of Madeira in 1985, is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with more than 140 goals for Portugal. He has said several times that reaching 1,000 career goals is one of his remaining aims.
In Saudi Arabia, he finished as the league’s top scorer in the 2023-24 season with a record 35 goals, and topped the scoring chart again the following season.
Al-Nassr under Ange Postecoglou
Al-Nassr are coached this season by Ange Postecoglou, the Australian who took charge before the start of the campaign. The club opened its title defense in August with a 3-0 win over Al-Fateh, a match Ronaldo watched from the stands.
For Portugal, the dispute leaves open whether its most capped player and record scorer will be called up for the next international window. The federation’s decision on any sanction is still pending.
