Kevin Hatchard is ‘not 100 per cent convinced’ Cristiano Ronaldo will retire if he falls agonisingly short of scoring 1,000 career goals.Ronaldo has made no secret of his desire to reach the astonishing mark, something has never been done in competitive football.Ronaldo watched on from the stands as Al Nassr began their season with a winAFPAlthough the Al-Nassr superstar is just 24 goals away from conquering the feat, time is not on his side.The 41-year-old acknowledged just as much, admitting in an interview with Vogue that ‘this will probably be my last year’ in football.Kevin Hatchard’s verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirementBut speaking on talkSPORT’s Trans Euro Express, Hatchard doesn’t think Ronaldo will let himself walk away from the game if he doesn’t crack the 1,000-goal mark.“I’m not 100 per cent convinced by this, because if he ends up three goals short of reaching 1,000, there’s no way he’s going to stop three short of 1,000, surely,” Hatchard said.Co-host Andy Brassell also noted Ronaldo’s statement left room for interpretation.When will Cristiano Ronaldo actually retire?“He’s not that far away at the moment and he said this will probably be my last year of football,” Brassell said.“So, does that mean year or season? It’s quite open-ended, isn’t it? “There’s the possibility he could pack it in in time for Christmas. “Then, maybe he’s still at it in December 2027 because he’s trying to get over the line with some sort of record.”Should Ronaldo choose to hang up the boots at the end of the 2026/27 Saudi Pro League season, he has until May 29 next year to score 1,000 goals.Ronaldo is Portugal’s all-time goalscorer with 146 to his nameGettyRonaldo is also in the final year of his Al-Nassr contract, having first joined in December 2022.The curtain has already started to close on Ronaldo’s glittering career for club and country, with the superstar having already confirmed this year’s World Cup was his last.Unfortunately for Ronaldo, Portugal only progressed as far as the round of 16, where they bowed out to eventual champions Spain.Could Cristiano Ronaldo play at another World Cup?However, given part of the 2030 World Cup will be played in Portugal, Brassell questioned whether Ronaldo – who will be 45 when the next edition rolls around – has truly played his final minutes at the tournament.“We’ve known this has been coming for a while,” Brassell said.“But obviously a lot of people have thought, ‘He’s been going on and on for Portugal, so will he be going for the next World Cup,’ when some of the next World Cup will be in Portugal.Ronaldo finally won his first Saudi Pro League title with Al-Nassr last seasonAFP“Will he still be going for the Euros, which is before that?“And of course, Jorge Jesus, the new Portugal coach, was very non-committal saying it would be up to Ronaldo himself to choose when he was moving on.“But I think it’s clear to everyone, whether that’s to someone who admires him enormously and is a super fan or isn’t at all, that the time is coming.”