Soccer-Ronaldo eyes 1,000-goal 'icing on the cake' as Portugal begin new era

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OEIRAS, Portugal, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo ⁠walked into a packed room, claimed to be nervous, then did what he has done for more than two decades: ⁠taking centre stage, swatting away critics and insisting the final whistle is not yet in sight.

The 41-year-old Portugal captain, ‌speaking on Wednesday at the Portugal Football Summit main stage before Thursday's UEFA Nations League match against Wales, said he still had plenty to offer his country as Jorge Jesus prepares for his first game as national team coach.

Jesus replaced Roberto Martinez after Portugal's disappointing World Cup campaign ended in the round of 16 against eventual ​champions Spain.

Ronaldo, now on 979 career goals — 833 for clubs and 146 for Portugal — ⁠is 21 short of the 1,000-goal landmark he has ⁠openly targeted. Asked whether winning the Nations League or reaching four figures mattered more, he grinned and chose both.

"One goal is to ⁠achieve ‌both – reaching 1,000 goals and the national team trying to win this Nations League," Ronaldo said at the Portugal Football Summit at the Portuguese FA headquarters outside Lisbon.

"It's a new era with manager Jorge Jesus, whom we all know well; I just ⁠hope things go well for him."

Ronaldo said reaching 1,000 in Portugal colours would be "the ​icing on the cake".

"Scoring my 1,000th goal ‌for the national team would be the culmination of something – a beautiful story," he said. "It wouldn't be the end of ⁠it, but it would ​be a beautiful story."

Ronaldo insisted, however, that he was not consumed by the chase.

"I've already admitted that I want to get there, and I will get there," he said. "An obsession? No ... The rest is about enjoying it, enjoying every day."

Ronaldo acknowledged he had considered his international future after Portugal's World ⁠Cup exit, but said talks with the Portuguese FA and Jesus convinced him ​to continue.

"They count on me. I still believe that I'm able to help the national team," he said."The most important point is to be able, inside the pitch, to score goals and help the team to win games.

"If the manager doesn't count on me, I can leave today – ⁠no problem at all... When I feel that I'm not doing anything here, that I'm not contributing on the pitch, not scoring goals, creating a bad atmosphere, or that they don't want me here, I'll be the first to pack my bags."

Pressed on retirement, Ronaldo refused to draw a clear line under his career.

"I learnt something from my late 30s onwards, which is to live in the moment, don't ​think about tomorrow," he said.

"Is it possible? Yes. Highly likely? Yes. But will it happen? No, ⁠I don't know."

Ronaldo also bristled at criticism, saying media outlets had been trying to "kill" him for years.

"That's not going to happen under any circumstances – ​not even with a shotgun," he said. "And even so, I still manage to dodge ‌the bullet."

Ronaldo may be 21 goals from four figures and perhaps closer ​to the exit than he cares to admit, but for now he remains exactly where he likes to be: in Portugal's shirt, in front of the cameras, and dodging bullets with a smile.

(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Ed Osmond)

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葡萄牙奥埃拉斯，9 月 23 日（路透社）——克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多走进一个挤满人的房间，声称自己很紧张，然后做了他二十多年来一直在做的事情：成为焦点，驳斥批评者，并坚称终场哨声还远未到来。

41岁的葡萄牙队长周三在葡萄牙足球峰会主舞台上发表讲话，为周四对阵威尔士的欧足联国家联赛做准备。他表示，随着豪尔赫·热苏斯准备执教国家队的首场比赛，他仍然能为国家队做出很多贡献。

在葡萄牙队令人失望的世界杯征程止步16强，负于最终的冠军西班牙队之后，热苏斯接替了罗伯托·马丁内斯的帅位。

罗纳尔多职业生涯至今已攻入979球——其中833球为俱乐部进球，146球为葡萄牙国家队进球——距离他公开设定的1000球里程碑还差21球。当被问及赢得欧国联冠军和达到四位数进球数哪个更重要时，他咧嘴一笑，选择了两者兼顾。

“我的一个目标是同时实现这两个目标——达到1000个进球，以及帮助国家队赢得本届欧洲国家联赛冠军，”罗纳尔多在里斯本郊外葡萄牙足协总部举行的葡萄牙足球峰会上说道。

“球队迎来了新时代，新任主教练是豪尔赫·热苏斯，我们都很了解他；我只希望他一切顺利。”

罗纳尔多表示，身披葡萄牙球衣达到1000场比赛将是“锦上添花”。

“为国家队打进第1000个进球，将是一个里程碑式的时刻——一个美好的故事，”他说。“这不会是故事的终结，但会是一个美好的故事。”

然而，罗纳尔多坚称，他并没有被追逐所吞噬。

“我已经承认我想去那里，而且我一定会去那里，”他说。“痴迷吗？不……剩下的就是享受过程，享受每一天。”

罗纳尔多承认，在葡萄牙世界杯出局后，他曾考虑过自己的国家队生涯，但他表示，与葡萄牙足协和热苏斯的会谈让他决定继续为国效力。

“他们指望我。我仍然相信我能够帮助国家队，”他说。“最重要的是能够在球场上进球，帮助球队赢得比赛。”

“如果教练不信任我，我今天就可以走——完全没问题……如果我觉得我在这里什么都做不了，在场上没有贡献，没有进球，没有制造不良氛围，或者他们不想要我，我会第一个收拾行李离开。”

当被问及何时退役时，罗纳尔多拒绝明确地为自己的职业生涯画上句号。

“从30多岁后期开始，我学到了一件事，那就是活在当下，不要去想明天，”他说。

“有可能吗？有可能。很有可能吗？很有可能。但它会发生吗？不，我不知道。”

罗纳尔多也对批评感到愤怒，称媒体多年来一直试图“毁掉”他。

“无论如何都不会发生那种事——就算用霰弹枪也不行，”他说。“即便如此，我还是躲过了子弹。”

罗纳尔多距离四位数进球还差 21 个，而且可能比他愿意承认的更接近退役，但就目前而言，他仍然待在他最喜欢的地方：身穿葡萄牙球衣，站在镜头前，面带微笑地躲避着外界的攻击。

（费尔南多·卡拉斯报道，埃德·奥斯蒙德编辑）

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