“Don’t get me wrong” - Ex-Man United coach Rene Meulensteen suggests Cristiano Ronaldo could give up 1000-goal milestone for another achievement

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo might be willing to forgo his pursuit of 1,000 career goals in order to achieve World Cup glory with Portugal.

Ronaldo, 40, is expected to feature in the next Mundial scheduled for next summer in the USA, Canada, and Mexico in what could be his last appearance in football’s most prestigious tournament. Despite being in the twilight of his career, Ronaldo’s goal-scoring prowess seems unwaning. The Portuguese superstar is just 50 goals away from reaching a milestone of 1,000 career goals.

While he has admitted that it would be ‘great’ if he could score 1,000 goals, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has not hidden his desire to go to the 2026 World Cup with Portugal and win it. Ronaldo recently led Seleção das Quinas to their second Nations League title and would look to give Portugal their maiden World Cup trophy next summer.

However, Rene Meulensteen believes the World Cup is hard to win, saying that Cristiano Ronaldo may want to sacrifice scoring a millennium of goals for leading Portugal to glory in North America.

"Cristiano Ronaldo would swap his 1000 goals for World Cup glory, I think he would,” Meulensteen told CasinoHawks. “The World Cup is exceptional. Don't get me wrong, Portugal has exceptionally good players but I tell you what, it's bloody hard to win the World Cup. Just go back to the World Cup final with Argentina and France. "It ended up 3-3 with two exceptional players, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, both performing unbelievably. To be honest, Portugal will definitely say, ‘Listen, we've got possibly one of the best squads to go into a World Cup for years,’ but it's a big ask."

Meulensteen had previously said Ronaldo has a chance of winning the World Cup next year during an interview with Grosvenor Sport in May, noting that Portugal have a pool of talent.

Cristiano Ronaldo told he can inspire Portugal to World Cup glory

Former Arsenal and Brazil star Gilberto Silva opined that Cristiano Ronaldo’s leadership will be ‘so important and vital’ for Portugal at the 2026 World Cup. He hailed Ronaldo’s mental toughness, insisting that his presence can inspire Portugal to achieve things.

Silva told Oddspedia in an interview earlier this month:

“He’s a machine. Cristiano has a mentality like no other player. He can turn things around and find a solution on the pitch. In recent years, he’s not as fast as he used to be, but he’s found a role playing as a number nine and continues to score goals like mad. What we expect from this player is his leadership. I think his leadership is so important and vital for Portugal, regardless of how long he stays on the field. “I’m sure having him in the squad would be great for every player because he can inspire them, push them to their limits, and make them believe they are capable of achieving things.”

To date, Ronaldo holds the record for the player with the most caps and goals for the Portugal national team.

Edited by Ezekiel Olamide