After the hat-trick: the controversial goal reignites the debate over Ronaldo's milestone!

What happened?

Cristiano Ronaldo has reignited his chase for the 1000th goal of his career. The Al-Nassr captain struck a hat-trick against Al-Khaleej on Thursday evening in the twelfth round of the Saudi Roshn Pro League, a night that swelled his scoring numbers and dragged an old controversy over one of his recent goals back into the spotlight.

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Count the disputed goal against Al-Faisaly and Ronaldo's tally climbs to 885, leaving him just 15 short of the magic number. That figure still divides the record-keepers, though. Some statistical sources refuse to put that particular goal on his account.

The Al-Faisaly goal: the point of contention in Ronaldo's figures

The row traces back to Al-Nassr's 3-1 win over Al-Faisaly. Ronaldo scored, but the ball brushed an opposition player before crossing the line, which threw up an immediate question. Should it really go down as his, or did the touch make someone else the scorer?

The referee's report and the Roshn League association settled it in Ronaldo's favour, crediting the goal to him and adding it to his official count, according to the information received on the incident. Other sources dug in and kept it off his record, and that split is where the difference in his overall numbers comes from.

15 goals separate Don from the historic dream

Take the goal as accepted in the match and association records, and Ronaldo sits on 885. Fifteen more and he hits a thousand, a milestone the Portuguese hopes to reach before the curtain falls on his career.

The sources that reject the Al-Faisaly goal put the Al-Nassr captain on 884, which stretches the gap to 16. One figure or the other, the acceptance of the goal in the official match records remains the deciding factor in the debate over his tally. And still he closes in on another piece of history.