The new year commences for Cristiano Ronaldo this Thursday when Al Nassr host Al Okhdood as part of Matchday 14 in the Roshn Saudi League.

The game marks Al Nassr’s return to competitive action ahead of a special year for the Portuguese striker as he turns 40 on 5 February. The forward has no intention of hanging up his boots in the short term and with 916 career goals under his belt, the Madeira born player has his sights firmly set on the 1,000 goal milestone, what would truly be an unrepeatable legacy to round off an incredible career.

Ronaldo finished 2024 on 43 goals in total but despite this impressive haul, his scoring tally was bettered by Viktor Gyökeres, with the Sweden/Sporting CP player bagging an incredible 52 goals for the calendar year.

Ronaldo aiming for 2025 silverware

With 10 goals this season in Saudi Arabia, Cristiano is the joint second top scorer in the Saudi Pro League, equalling Karim Benzema, who has been unstoppable with Al Ittihad with both men two goals behind Al Hilal’s Mitrovic.

The Portuguese star will be hoping that the opening game of the new year, against lowly Al Okhdood offers an opportunity to find the net in this milestone year for the player.

The road to a thousand goals has begun and, less than a month away from turning 40 years old, Cristiano still has drive, hunger and ambition and is anxious to show that despite his age, the striker has still plenty to offer.