Football fans have noticed Cristiano Ronaldo’s new ‘M’ hand gesture goal celebration – but what does it actually mean?

Ronaldo scored his 983rd, 984th and 985th career goals in Al Nassr’s 5-3 win over Al-Kholood on October 29, putting him just 15 strikes away from the coveted 1,000 mark.

Brazilian legend Pelé is the only player previously credited with scoring more than 1,000 career goals, netting 1,279 between 1956 and 1977.

Goalscoring comes almost as second nature to Ronaldo, with his strikes usually followed by his ‘Siu’ celebration.

However, in recent weeks, supporters have noticed Ronaldo using a new celebration in which he appears to form an ‘M’ with his fingers.

The celebration left fans wondering what it meant, and the explanation now appears to have become clear.

Ronaldo has not publicly addressed the celebration, but curious supporters have done some digging and found that M stands for 1,000 in Roman numerals.

When could Cristiano Ronaldo reach 1,000 goals?

Between now and the end of the year, Al Nassr have five Saudi Pro League matches and a further two in the AFC Champions League Elite, while the clash against Al Hazem has been postponed and is yet to be reorganised.

So, if Ronaldo plays in all seven confirmed matches, he would have to score 2.14 goals per match. The 41-year-old may also represent Portugal during the November international break against Wales and Denmark after being named in the preliminary squad by Jorge Jesus, despite the pair’s fallout in September.

What has Cristiano Ronaldo said about reaching 1,000 goals?

Ronaldo described potentially scoring 1,000 goals as the ‘cherry on top of the cake’ of his career when speaking about the achievement back in September.

He said: “It would be the cherry on the top of the cake to score my 1,000th goal with the national team. It would be the culmination of a beautiful story. I said I wanted to reach that target and I will reach that target. But I don’t have an obsession. If you are obsessed with something, you won’t get it … Just enjoy. Carpe diem, enjoy the day.”

In a separate interview in October, Ronaldo claimed he would still consider himself the greatest player in history even if he missed out on scoring 1,000 goals.

Ronaldo said: “Things have to happen naturally. If I score 920 goals, or 925, or 930, the best player in history is me, and that’s the end of it.

“The numbers speak for themselves. If I reach that figure, meaning a thousand goals, it would be something amazing and a target I am working towards, but I don’t think about the long term.”