"Please, for the sake of your legacy, score your 1,000 goals and then call it a day." That's former Arsenal midfielder Anders Limpar's message to Cristiano Ronaldo — and it's hard to argue with the logic.
Ronaldo is 41, currently on 967 career goals after a brace in Al-Nassr's 5-2 win over Al-Najma on April 3, and has a contract in Saudi Arabia running until 2027. The World Cup in 2026 would take him to 42. Limpar thinks that's the line. Cross it, hit the milestone, and stop.
The MLS question nobody should be asking
Speculation about a move to Major League Soccer keeps resurfacing, and Limpar isn't having it. "Why would you start another journey in MLS at 41? It's not an easy league to play in. There are many very good players over there." That's a fair point that often gets lost in the Ronaldo-to-America narrative — MLS isn't a retirement home, and a hamstring-prone 41-year-old wouldn't be gliding through it on reputation alone.
Ronaldo missed Portugal's last two matches with that hamstring issue, having been sidelined from February 28 before returning to club action last week. That's the context Limpar is working with. The body is starting to issue reminders.
33 more goals to reach 1,000. At his current pace in Saudi Arabia, that's achievable. The World Cup gives him one last international stage. It's a clean exit point — legacy intact, milestone reached, no awkward farewell tour dragging into a third decade of professional football.
The legacy question is real
Ronaldo has already said he'll retire "soon" — his word in a November 2025 interview with Piers Morgan. But soon is doing a lot of work in that sentence. His Al-Nassr deal runs to 2027, meaning there's a structural incentive to keep going even when the football arguments start stacking up against it.
Limpar's position is simple: "Nobody can get close to achieving what he has achieved as a football player. Come on. Don't be stubborn. Just face life and pack it in."
Blunt. But then, so is the arithmetic. 967 goals, one World Cup left, and a hamstring that's already started making decisions for him.
