Cristiano Ronaldo nets career goal No. 981 while Portugal weighs discipline

While the Portuguese Football Federation is still reviewing Cristiano Ronaldo's disciplinary file, the organization itself couldn't resist celebrating his latest goal. That's how contradictory the Portuguese star's saga has become these days.

On Monday, Ronaldo started for Al Nassr in a matchup against Neftchi Fergana in the AFC Champions League Elite and scored the 981st goal of his career, a strike that helped his team win 3-1. It was just his second match with the Saudi club since his controversial departure from the national team during the last international window.

Here's the strange part: just two days before that match, the Portuguese Federation itself had suspended the forward. And yet, hours after the win in Asia, the FPF posted a photo of Ronaldo in his national team jersey on social media, writing: "Ronaldo scores again with Al Nassr."

The goal comes at an awkward moment for the forward. Ronaldo left Portugal's training camp after a disagreement with new head coach Jorge Jesus over the limited minutes he was getting in the Nations League. The exit made immediate waves and forced the player himself to offer a public explanation.

Ronaldo ended up apologizing to his teammates and said in a statement that he would accept whatever sanction the FPF decided to hand down. Still, he made clear that he intends to keep wearing the national team jersey going forward.

For now, the federation hasn't announced any final punishment. Details of the disciplinary process will remain confidential until the investigation wraps up, so it's still unclear what consequences, if any, the Portuguese captain will face.

What was clear on Monday, though, is that regardless of the institutional drama, Ronaldo keeps padding his goal tally. After the match, the forward celebrated the result on social media:

Important win tonight. We keep building.Cristiano Ronaldo

With this goal, Ronaldo keeps inching closer to the round number of 1,000 career goals, a milestone he has been chasing match after match, one that keeps every one of his moves, on and off the field, under close watch.