His birth date, his age in 2026, and why he is still scoring
Cristiano Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985 and is 41 years old (as of 2026). He was born in Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, and even at 41 he is still scoring regularly for Al Nassr and Portugal. On a site built to track his march toward 1,000 career goals, his age is the whole story: almost no forward stays this prolific this late.
Age has not slowed the goals. At 41 Ronaldo scored a brace at the 2026 World Cup, and during the 2025/26 season he passed 100 Saudi Pro League goals for Al Nassr — the kind of volume most strikers post in their mid-20s, not their 40s. His career total now stands at 976 goals, which leaves him just 24 short of becoming the first footballer to reach 1,000 official senior goals. Because his birth date is fixed — 5 February 1985 — the milestone is now a race between his age and his output, and so far the output is winning.
Most strikers peak in their late 20s and fade fast after 33. Ronaldo's peak scoring years came around ages 27 to 29, when he strung together three straight Real Madrid seasons of 60+ goals, topping out at 68 in 2011/12. What is remarkable is what came after: instead of the usual decline, he has kept banking 25 to 40+ goals a season deep into his late 30s and his 40s. That refusal to follow the normal aging curve is exactly why 1,000 is even on the table — a player who aged like everyone else would have stopped 200 goals ago. For the full breakdown of how many goals he scored at each age, see the season-by-season age chart.
Explore more: Goals by age · How many goals to reach 1,000 · How many goals has Ronaldo scored · All Ronaldo FAQs