Cristiano Ronaldo Scores in 25 Consecutive League Seasons
Cristiano Ronaldo has rewritten football’s record books yet again. At 41, in a league half a world away from where it all began, he has become the first professional footballer to score in 25 consecutive league seasons.
The landmark arrived on Friday, August 21, in Al-Nassr’s Saudi Pro League trip to Al-Riyadh. Another routine night for the champions on the scoreboard. Anything but routine for the man who refuses to let time dictate his career.
From Lisbon teenager to 25 straight seasons
Ronaldo’s league scoring streak started back in the 2002-03 season with Sporting CP, when he was a skinny teenager bursting down the wing in Lisbon. Every single league campaign since then, in every shirt he has worn, he has found a way to score.
More than two decades later, the run is still alive.
This time he began on the bench. Introduced in the 62nd minute, with Al-Nassr already in control, the stage still found him. It usually does. In the 83rd minute, Ayman Yahya drilled a low cross into the box and Ronaldo, timing his movement as sharply as ever, met it with a calm left-footed finish from inside the area.
One touch, one swing of the boot, 25 seasons in a row.
That goal nudged him past Zlatan Ibrahimović, who had held the previous benchmark with strikes in 24 consecutive league seasons. The Swede’s mark stood as a symbol of longevity. Ronaldo has pushed the bar higher again.
977 and counting
The strike against Al-Riyadh carried even more weight when added to the bigger picture. It lifted Ronaldo’s official senior tally to a staggering 977 goals for club and country, spread across five clubs and the Portugal national team:
- Real Madrid: 450
- Portugal: 146
- Manchester United: 145
- Al-Nassr: 130
- Juventus: 101
- Sporting CP: 5
Total: 977.
Every one of those goals is logged in a different chapter of his career, but they all feed into the same, almost implausible number.
The night’s work also mattered for Al-Nassr. Ronaldo’s finish helped seal a 4-0 away win, a statement result to open the defence of their Saudi Pro League title and a perfect start to the 2026-27 campaign.
The chase for 1,000
All of this now funnels into one looming target: 1,000 goals.
Ronaldo stands just 23 shy of four figures in official senior football. It is a number that once belonged to folklore and disputed record books. He is dragging it into the modern era, one penalty-box movement at a time.
There is, however, a clock running in the background. The Portuguese forward has hinted that the 2026-27 season could be his last as a professional. His current deal with Al-Nassr runs until June 2027, a natural endpoint for a career that has stretched across generations.
So the equation is simple and brutal. One final contract. One last title defence. One last chase, this time for 1,000.
He has already outlasted his peers, outscored his rivals and outlived the usual limits of an elite footballer’s career. Now the question hangs over every appearance in yellow and blue:
Can Cristiano Ronaldo bend time one more time and finish on four digits?
