Put to give practical use to artificial intelligence, If one asks the chatgpt when Cristiano Ronaldo will reach the 1,000 goals, The obsession that directs his career right now, LA response that is obtained is that it will be in September 2026. By then the Portuguese will have played the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and before that, the final of the Nations League that this Sunday will face Portugal in Munich with Spain in the Allianz Arena.
Cristiano Ronaldo's dimension and his impact on Portuguese football is explained very easily. CUndo CR7 first wore the shirt of his selection in 2003, Portugal had never played the final of an international competition. The farthest thing that came was to the semifinals of the World Cup 66 and the Eurocup of 84.
Roberto Martinez embraces Cristiano Ronaldo when he was replaced in Portugal-Germany. / AP
But in the 22 years in which Cristiano has dressed the shirt of his selection, Portugal has played four finals, including this Sunday of the League of Nations against Spain. Of them has won two of them: the Eurocup in 2016 and the League of Nations in 2019. The other one that played, that of the 2004 Eurocup, ended with Portuguese defeat before its compatriots in the Da Luz stadium in front of Greece. It was Madeira's first international competition.
But there is an even more striking fact that explains its capital influence: On the four occasions when Portugal reached the final, Cristiano marked in the semifinals. And in the semifinals in which he did not score, his selection was eliminated. He did not do it in the 2006 World Cup in the semifinal with France and Portugal stayed on the road, nor in the Eurocup of 2012, where the end of the match with Spain was reached with zero and the Lusos fell on penalties.
Lamine Yamal warned with a serious face in the press room of the Mercedes Benz Arena in Stuttgart after the triumph over France (5-4): “Cristiano is a legend, but I will go out to do my job.” When Barça's canterano was born, who is now 17 years old, Cristiano had four playing with Portugal and had already reached the semifinals of a World Cup.
The Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo gestures during the UEFA League of Nations League between Germany and Portugal in Munich. /EFE/EPA/Anna Szilagyi
Now, at 40, he pursues other dreams guided by his insatiable ambition: reaching 1,000 goals and play with his son, 'Cristianinho', which on May 13 debuted with the sub-15 team of Portugal against Japan. They do not seem affordable achievements either of them for someone of their age.
The 1000 goals and play with 'Cristianinho'
However, Cristiano has changed his sleep habits to maintain his intact physiological conditions. Recently, the Al-Nassr striker promoted a mark of smart bracelets that monitors the physiological parameters to know the general health state of the person. In his case, the device estimated that his biological age was 28.9 years, a decade less of his current chronological age.
The secret, according to Christian himself, is “sleeping well. That is the most important tool I have, since it is the only time of the day you can recover and put everything in place. For me, a good night of sleep is the most important thing we can have in life in terms of health.” Ronaldo sleeps an average of 7 hours and 15 minutes every night, in addition to having a diet monitored by a nutritionist and maintaining a thorough life in terms of training routines.
But these days there is something that does not let him sleep. The Portuguese dreams of participating in the First Club World Cup in History, which will be played in two weeks in the United States. There will be Leo Messi, with Inter de Miami, and the main clubs of the world such as Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona, Porto, Boca, River Plate or Botafogo. They will also be clubs from thriving economies, But from Arabia there will be his, the Al-Nassr because the representative will be his neighbor of Ryad, the al-Hilalwho will premiere coach in the person of Simone Inzaghi in his debut match in the tournament against Real Madrid.
Cristiano has a contract with the AL-NSSR until June 30 and the deadline for the hiring window for the Club World Cup closes next Tuesday, June 10. Ronaldo recently hung on his networks a message that said: “This chapter is over.” That made the alarms jump in Arabia, where the Portuguese was a pioneer to be the first big star of world football in betting on disembarking in the Saudi Pro League at a rate of 200 million annually.
Ronaldo has not won any title in the Al-Nassr in two seasons and his priority is to play the Club World Cup at all costs. But it is bound by hands. Fans have set fire to social networks after the CR7 message while the board has confirmed the continuity of Fernando Hierro as sports director. The club looks for Sadio Mané and Laporte and the priority is to renew a Cristiano who has flirted with the Al-Hilal to exploit the possibility of being this summer at the Club World Cup.
In just over 48 hours will play Its fourth final with Portugal, the first against Spain, with which it has pending accounts after being eliminated by those who would later be champions of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and the Eurocup of Poland and Ukraine in 2012. Cristiano has only marked Spain on one occasion, scoring a double that, however, did not earn him to win because the game remained (3-3).
That is why he wants to get the thorn before an opponent who has historically subjected him and a country that loves and hates in equal parts for his status as a Madrid referent. But while preparing the match against Spain, the clock runs against its desire to play the Club World Cup. At 40, Cristiano is in a labyrinth of difficult departure.
