Gary Neville has claimed that his former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo will not retire until he surpasses Pele as the greatest goalscorer in football history.
Pele is currently recognised as the leading scorer of all time, having netted 1,282 times in 1,363 games, although that figure includes a number of goals scored in exhibition matches and unofficial friendlies.
Ronaldo, now 35, is still some way behind Pele with 725 career goals for club and country, but Neville believes that he will be determined to play on until he is statistically the best ever.
"His drive was out of this world to become the best in the world. He's one of the very few players that I've played with that would publicly announce that the individual trophies were important to him," Neville told Sky Sports News.
"He just wanted to be the very, very best in the world and it's so important to him. It's an obsession. Absolute obsession with scoring goals. Applying himself every single day, being the fittest he can possibly be. I think he's lifted his professionalism every single year and progressed.
"Jamie [Carragher] mentioned before about James Milner wanting to play into his late 30s and 40s. I think he [Ronaldo] has a plan to go on and take over Pele's record. I genuinely believe he wants to go on and beat Pele's numbers.
"That's where I think he's at in his mind, he wants to be the greatest of all time, that is his sole purpose, understanding that along the way if he is the greatest of all time, the teams that he plays for will win trophies and be successful."
Ronaldo is already closing in on becoming the highest international goalscorer ever, with only Iran's Ali Daei having netted more than the Portugal talisman's tally of 99.
Barney Corkhill
