The viral text had Ronaldo declaring himself the greatest footballer in history. By the evening the quotes were gone from CNN Portugal’s platforms, and the explanation was awkward: the interview was not new.
The conversation was conducted by Spanish journalist Edu Aguirre for La Sexta in early 2025, and republishing it without flagging the age of the quotes was enough to send them around the world as if they had just been said. The Portuguese outlet removed the article a few hours after publishing it.
The line that drove the virality came in response to a question about chasing 1,000 career goals.
“If I score 920 goals, or 925, or 930, the best player in history is me, and that’s the end of it.”
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That was Ronaldo talking to Aguirre on La Sexta, as reported by Goal, long before the clips were handed a second life this week.
“People do not give the level I produce and my goals the recognition they deserve.”
On his future he was less certain.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Maybe one day I’ll wake up and lose my motivation.”
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A row with Jorge Jesus as backdrop
The 2025 quotes landed into the loudest week of Ronaldo’s international career. Earlier this month he walked out of Portugal’s training camp after head coach Jorge Jesus, appointed in July 2026 on a four-year deal, left him on the bench for a win over Norway.
Ronaldo accused Jesus of breaking a promise to give him 30 minutes in Oslo and said a follow-up meeting had produced an agreement that Jesus then ignored at his next press conference. The 72-year-old Portuguese coach, in his first job with a national team, said publicly that no such agreement existed and that the squad door remained open.
The Portuguese Football Federation has provisionally suspended Ronaldo over the walkout, with potential sanctions ranging up to six months.
Twenty goals from the number that started it
Ronaldo put the row to one side on 10 October, scoring Al Nassr’s opener in a 3-0 win over Al-Diriyah at Al Awwal Park in Riyadh. It was his 980th career goal, reached after he reacted first to a rebound off a Kingsley Coman effort in the 23rd minute.
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That leaves him 20 goals short of 1,000, which is the number the La Sexta interview was built around in the first place. When Aguirre pressed him on the milestone, Ronaldo waved it away as a formality.
“The numbers speak for themselves.”
Portugal’s next fixtures fall in the November international window, with any Ronaldo involvement dependent on the federation’s disciplinary decision.
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