Ronaldo calls himself the greatest of all time as 1,000-goal mark nears

Ronaldo's claim to be the best ever

Cristiano Ronaldo told CNN Portugal that he is the greatest player of all time and that the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to scoring. The 41-year-old Al Nassr forward said that anyone who prefers Lionel Messi, Pelé or Diego Maradona is expressing a matter of personal taste, which he respects. He rejected the idea that he is not a complete footballer, calling that claim a lie and saying he is the most complete player of them all. He also described his rivalry with Messi as mutual motivation, comparing the two to Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in Formula 1, since each always gave the other a reason to push harder.

980 goals and the 1,000 target

Ronaldo has scored 980 goals in 1,337 matches at club and international level, with his most recent goal coming for Al Nassr in the Saudi league. He said that reaching 1,000 would be fantastic, but that he will not say he must reach it. He complained that people are more concerned with how many goals he is missing than with his current form and his goals. He said things must happen naturally, that he does not know what will happen tomorrow, and that he might one day wake up without motivation and no longer want to play. N-tv listed his honours as the 2016 European Championship, five Champions League titles and five awards as world player of the year.

Suspension and the dispute with Jorge Jesus

Ronaldo left Portugal's national team training camp abruptly in early October after a dispute with coach Jorge Jesus. In a long statement published in the week of 5 October, he gave his version of events, accused Jesus of breaking a promise twice and apologised to the fans. He objected that Jesus did not bring him on against Norway, even though he had gone to warm up and was initially due to play 30 minutes. The Portuguese federation has suspended him and opened an inquiry into insubordination. Ronaldo ruled out quitting the national team, saying he would accept the ban and was ready to return to the squad afterwards.

Federation response and the wider debate

Federation president Pedro Proença said the federation, the coach and Ronaldo's teammates all want him back in the squad. Articles noted that in recent weeks Messi's farewells from the national team, real or supposed, have been compared with Ronaldo's situation. Ronaldo's own statements on retirement were open ended, as he did not say when or how his career would end. The interview came as the federation's inquiry remained open and his suspension was in force.