"Who's the best goalscorer in history? It's about numbers. Full stop," says Cristiano Ronaldo.
The football icon turned 40 on Wednesday and has claimed he is "the most complete player to have existed".
Speaking to Spanish outlet El Chiringuito after scoring twice in Al Nassr's 4-0 Asian Champions League win over Al Wasl, Ronaldo added: "Who's the player in history who's scored most goals with their head, their left foot, penalties, free-kicks?
"I was looking the other day and not being left-footed, I'm in the top 10 goalscorers with their left foot in history. And with my head, and with my right foot, and penalties. All of them.
"One thing is taste. If you like [Lionel] Messi, Pele, [Diego] Maradona, I understand that and I respect that, but saying Ronaldo isn't complete - I'm the most complete. I haven't seen anybody better than me and I say it from the heart."
The Portugal international has netted 923 career goals for club and country, extending his record as the highest men's goalscorer in football history - a record verified by FIFA.
So what do the stats say?
Stunning numbers
Moving from the wing to a more central role, Ronaldo's goal rate began to gather steam with 145 goals in 346 appearances for Manchester United between 2003 and 2009 - netting 42 in all competitions during the 2007/08 season.
However, his clinical edge hit a new level after a blockbuster move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a world-record £80m fee - proceeding to average 50 goals per campaign during nine years at the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo made an emotional return to Old Trafford in 2021 but the honeymoon proved short-lived - leaving one year later by mutual consent after saying he felt "betrayed" by the club and had "no respect" for then-manager Erik ten Hag in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
The Portugal international signed a blockbuster deal with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr and scored 50 goals in all competitions during his first full campaign in the Middle East.
The chart below reveals Ronaldo's sensational longevity, showing his stats by age for club and country combined.
The 40-year-old has registered 40+ goals in all but one year since turning 25, while his current game-time remains on par with his prime years.
Ronaldo pointed out he is among the all-time top 10 for goals scored with their left foot. Indeed, right-footed Ronaldo has converted 178 goals with his unfavoured boot and scored 154 goals from headers.
The dead-ball specialist has converted 172 spot-kicks and 64 from direct free-kicks.
Only 382 of his career goals have come as solo strikes during games, having scored twice in a game 165 times, while he has netted a hat-trick on 55 occasions - smashing four in a game nine times and scoring five twice, against Espanyol and Granada in 2015.
Both of those clubs appear in his all-time favourite opponents but Sevilla have fallen victim to Ronaldo's precision on more occasions than any other club, with the Portuguese firing 27 goals against the LaLiga side.
Other huge goal hauls against former Spanish rivals include Atletico Madrid (25), Getafe (23), Barcelona and Celta Vigo (both 20).
With the 2026 World Cup in his sights and no sign of slowing - let alone retiring - the record-breaking forward is now bearing down on an unthinkable landmark of 1,000 career goals.
He would achieve that feat at 41, based on his current rate of goals by age.
Ronaldo remains an integral part of the Portugal team, scoring three goals in the Nations League during their games in September and October last year. Indeed, he has scored more goals for his country than any other player in history.
If Ronaldo were to grace the world stage in North America next year, he would be looking to extend another record - having already scored a table-topping 22 goals for a country at World Cup and Euro competitions.
The football icon shows no sign of slowing and you can peruse each of his 923 career goals using the search bar in the interactive table below...
