Cristiano Ronaldo's pursuit of 1,000 career goals has run into an unexpected complication after Saudi football authorities opened a review into whether his 982nd goal for Al Nassr should actually be credited to him.
Al Nassr beat Al Faisaly 3-1 on October 23, 2026, in the 11th round of the Saudi Pro League. In the 49th minute, Ronaldo headed Joao Felix's free-kick towards goal, but replays appeared to show Al Faisaly defender Andrei Girotto also getting a touch before the ball crossed the line.
According to Goal.com, the Saudi Pro League initially credited the goal to Ronaldo based on match referee Abdullah Al-Owaidan's report. However, ESPN's goal tracker, which uses data from statistics provider Opta, recorded the strike as an own goal by Girotto, creating a discrepancy between the two records.
Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah, as reported by Fanzword, said the Saudi Arabian Football Federation's Referees Committee will review the goal to determine who should be credited with it. The Saudi Pro League's compliance committee has asked for the referee's report before deciding whether to change the scorer's name.
Tariq Kayal, chairman of the league's compliance committee, explained the process to Arriyadiyah: "We are waiting for the referee's statement on Monday, and we will study all the reports. If we are convinced by them, we will decide whether to uphold or reject the decision, thus awarding the goal with the correct ruling, and then submit it to the league for final approval."
Separately, Saudi outlet Midan Al Yaum reported that the refereeing department's technical committee had finished its meeting on the incident and sent the matter to FIFA for its opinion. Another outlet, Notizia Scommesse, also reported that the case had been referred to FIFA. There is no confirmed deadline for a FIFA response, so it remains unclear whether the matter will be resolved before Al Nassr's next match.
If officials continue to credit Ronaldo with the goal, his career tally will stay at 982. If the decision is changed and the strike is recorded as an own goal, his tally will drop to 981, meaning he would need 19 more goals to reach 1,000.
Ronaldo's chase for 1,000 goals
At 41, the Al Nassr captain continues to pursue the 1,000-goal milestone and has repeatedly voiced confidence about reaching it. "My goal is twofold: the 1000th goal and winning the Nations League," Ronaldo said, according to Balkanweb. "I know I'll get there, but it's not an obsession. The rest is about enjoying the game, but yes, I really want to set that record."
He expressed similar confidence in December 2025 while speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai: "You know what my goal is. I want to win trophies and I want to reach that number (1,000 goals) that you all know. I will reach the number for sure, if no injuries."
Earlier in October, after reaching his 980th career goal, Ronaldo posted on social media, as reported by SPL: "Job done. On to the next one!"
