SUMMARY
- Cristiano Ronaldo is off to an incredible start to his second season at Al-Nassr.
- The Portuguese striker finished the 2022/23 season with Al-Nassr with 14 goals in 16 league appearances.
Cristiano Ronaldo is off to an incredible start to his second season at Al-Nassr. The Portuguese goalscorer finished among the high goalscorers in the world in 2023 and is on track to break another goal-scoring record in the twilight of his career.
In his second season in the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo has 20 goals in 18 appearances for the Riyadh-based side. The current record for the most goals in a Saudi Pro Season is 34 goals. The feat was achieved by Abderrazak Hamdallah in 2018/19 for Al-Nassr.
It’s sad to see Cristiano Ronaldo fail to beat even Abderrazak Hamdallah in the Saudi Camel League.
😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/5icBE60Zzi
— Semper Fi (@SemperFiMessi) December 29, 2023
The Moroccan striker is an established goal-scoring threat in the Saudi League. He has been the top scorer of the league three times in his career. He was the top scorer of the league twice, with Al-Nassr. Furthermore, he was the top scorer of the league last season with 21 goals with Al-Ittihad. However, this time around, the top scorer berth is booked for Cristiano Ronaldo, who is showing no sign of stopping at the age of 38 years old.
Cristiano Ronaldo numbers with Al-Nassr in his first year
Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr at the start of 2023 after a disappointing second spell with Manchester United. In the second half of the 2022/23 season, the Portuguese striker started to find his feet in a different league and different environment.
Ronaldo quickly developed a close relationship with Brazilian midfielder, Anderson Talisca which helped in the attacking third of the pitch. The Portuguese striker finished the 2022/23 season with Al-Nassr with 14 goals in 16 league appearances.
The second half of the 2022/23 season proved to be a trailer for things to come, as Ronaldo unleashed himself in the 2023/24 season with an incredible goal-scoring form. This season, Ronaldo has scored 24 goals in 25 appearances for Al-Nassr in all competitions. He made his debut in the AFC Champions League and scored three goals in four appearances.
CRISTIANO RONALDO IS THE TOP SCORER OF 2023 WITH 54 GOALS 🍾 pic.twitter.com/pfftIZcbff
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 30, 2023
In his first year in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo scored 38 goals in 44 appearances in competitive matches for Al-Nassr. He has also provided 13 assists during this time and currently leads the charts for goal-scoring and assists. Many questioned the abilities of the Portuguese striker after he was benched by Portugal and Manchester United in key matches in 2022.
However, Ronaldo has shown immense resilience to bounce back in 2023. He has shown his longevity with 54 goals for club and country in the calendar year of 2023. He is currently 14 goals away from matching the goal-scoring record for the Saudi Pro League.
Judging by his current form, it will be easy for Ronaldo to surpass this record in the second half of the season. Ronaldo and Al-Nassr are currently enjoying the winter break in Saudi Arabia. They are slated to return to league action on February 15 against Al-Fateh.