Cristiano Ronaldo leads as highest scorer in Saudi Pro League, shatters record
Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record set by Moroccan striker Abdulrazak Hamdallah of Al Ittihad on Monday by becoming the first player in the Saudi Professional Football League to score 35 goals in a single season.
The 39-year-old Ronaldo scored twice as Al Nassr defeated Al Ittihad 4-2 in the league final round. Before the conclusion of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal with a well-placed shot and added another with a header. Ronaldo celebrated joyfully before being replaced in the 74th minute with a standing ovation. He was also involved in Suwailim Al Manhali, the Al Ittihad defender, being dismissed.
Despite having two chances in front of goal disallowed in the first half, Ronaldo looked sharp from the moment the kickoff whistle blew on Monday. But in the dying moments of the first half, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner managed to give Al-Nassr the lead.
He scored the first goal with a low shot from the left side of the box after chesting down a long ball from Mohammed Al-Fatil. In the meantime, he scored a header in the second half with 21 minutes left after Marcelo Brozovic’s corner. Five minutes later, he was replaced off the field to a standing ovation from the home crowd.
The team celebrates with Cristiano 🤩 pic.twitter.com/6ehE3Tmo3M
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) May 27, 2024
Ronaldo scored four hat-tricks and received a red card during his incredible season in Saudi Arabia. The most attention was drawn to a strange event in which the 39-year-old was punished for making lewd gestures at Al-Shabab supporters who were screaming the name of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s longtime nemesis in football, who currently plays for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
Also Read: Saudi Pro League News
In a social media post from his individual account, he posted, “I don’t follow the records; the records follow me,” Ronaldo captioned the post.
The Portuguese player, who has already won the top scorer accolade with Real Madrid (Spain), Manchester United (England), and Juventus (Italy), has become the first player to win the honor in four separate nations.
Al Nassr ended the league in second place, and when they play league champions Al Hilal in the King’s Cup final this Friday, Ronaldo and his squad aim to escape finishing the season without a championship.
Al-Hilal, a local rival that won the title more than two weeks ago and went undefeated through the 34-round league on Monday, finished 14 points ahead of Al-Nassr in second place.
