LONDON: Joao Felix has said he hopes to help his teammate for club and country, Cristiano Ronaldo, reach the historic total of 1,000 career goals; but there is little doubt that, these days, the 26-year-old is becoming a superstar in his own right.

A leading role for his country during the current international break has shown just how far he has come in the past year.

Felix linked up in Riyadh with veteran Portuguese international Ronaldo when he signed for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr from Chelsea in the summer of 2025. Together they helped their team become league champions in May but there could be much more yet to come — not least the prospect of Ronaldo scoring just 21 more goals in the coming months to reach a historic career landmark.

“We hope that he (Ronaldo) reaches 1,000 goals this season,” Felix told Arab News. “It will be good for us, will be good for him; we will help him reach this milestone.”

The world will be watching it happen but none will have a closer view than Felix, who also had spells at AC Milan and Barcelona before arriving in the Kingdom.

“I want to see it in real life, really close; and even better, I could be giving the assist for the 1,000th goal,” he said.

That would be something special for fans of Al-Nassr and Portugal, who have watched the former Benfica and Atletico Madrid star go from strength to strength over the past year. During his first season in Saudi Arabia, Felix was named the player of the season for his part in helping Al-Nassr to their first league title since 2019, contributing 20 goals and 14 assists along the way.

Given his success so far it is unsurprising he is enjoying his time in Saudi Arabia. And with the new season seven games in and just getting into its stride, he paid tribute to the quality of the SPL and the competition.

“Everyone knows the best teams: Ittihad, Ahli, Hilal,” Felix said. “And Diriyah are building a good team; Neom is already difficult.

“Every game is difficult but we are ready to play against them, to show that we are the champions, and to win a second one.”

Under new coach Ange Postecoglou, Felix is confident that more trophies will come Al-Nassr’s way, but he is not only impressing with his performances for his club, he has also been turning it on for his country.

During the summer, however, the World Cup turned out to be something of a disappointment for Portugal, who had been tipped as potential winners. While they successfully emerged from the group stage and then defeated Croatia in the first knockout round, they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Iberian rivals, and eventual champions, Spain.

“The World Cup is always difficult,” Felix said. “It depends on many, many things. We didn’t win and we could have done better, for sure. We need to learn from the mistakes and focus on the Nations League, which we have first, the Euros and then the next World Cup.

“We have to go step-by-step, build a strong group with a new coach, with new ideas, and think it will be good. But now we focus on the Nations League.”

That new coach is a familiar face; Jorge Jesus led Al-Nassr to the SPL title just a few months ago and is now in charge of his native Portugal. The well-traveled septuagenarian was never likely to overlook Felix for international duty, after seeing first-hand the kind of form he has been in for his club — and he seems to be building the team around the young star.

And Felix was on fire in Portugal’s first two Nations League games. Playing as a second striker, he scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Wales in Lisbon on Thursday, with a shot from outside the area.

“I know him very well,” Jesus said of Felix after the game, which was the coach’s first match in charge. “Today, even though he was tired, I kept him on the pitch because I thought he might produce something different. He is a special player.”

Then, on Sunday, Felix did it again, giving Portugal the early lead in what ended up an impressive 2-1 victory over World Cup quarter-finalists Norway in Oslo. Again, the goal came from a low shot from outside the box.

“Don’t try to smash the ball, just make contact with it,” Felix said. “As the coach says, ‘Pass it into the goal.’ That’s what I did and, thankfully, it went in.”

Felix had never played consecutive, 90-minute games for Portugal before but things are different now. His time with clubs in Europe did not exactly go smoothly all the time, for various reasons, but now it is looking like, well, a whole new ball game.

And it seems the rest of the world is starting to realize what fans of Al-Nassr, and their opponents, already knew: Joao Felix has rediscovered his mojo in Saudi Arabia, and while he is ready and happy to help teammate Ronaldo reach what would be an incredible 1,000-goal milestone, there is much more than that to look forward to from this young star.