Contributing a goal when Al Nassr defeated Al Taawoun 4-1 in round 19 of the Saudi Pro League, striker Cristiano Ronaldo closed 2023 with 54 goals
Ronaldo’s 54 goals include 10 goals in the Portuguese shirt and 44 goals in the Al Nassr shirt. At club level, he scored 34 goals in the Saudi Pro League, one in the King Cup, three in the AFC Champions League and six in the Arab Champion Clubs’ Cup.
Behind Ronaldo are Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe with both 52 goals, and Erling Haaland ends 2023 with 50 goals. There are three players who have reached the 40-goal mark this calendar year, Fluminense’s Germán Cano, Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga and Roma’s Romelu Lukaku. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi only has 28 goals in 44 matches, including 11 goals for Inter Miami.
Ronaldo celebrates the goal that sealed a 4-1 victory for Al Nassr at Al Taawoun Stadium in round 19 of the Saudi Pro League on December 30. Photo: X / Al Nassr
For the fifth time Ronaldo ended the year as the world’s top scorer, after 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were both in Real Madrid colors. 54 goals are also the best statistics of the Portuguese striker in a calendar year since scoring 55 goals in 2016, the year he won the Golden Ball.
After the victory over Al Taawoun, the 38-year-old striker celebrated his achievement with a post on Instagram. “54 goals, I will say when everything is over. Thank you whole team”, Ronaldo wrote.
At King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on December 30, Ashraf El Mahdioui helped Al Taawoun take the lead in the 13th minute. But after that, Marcelo Brozovic, Aymeric Laporte and Otavio scored to help Al Nassr take the advantage. In the second minute of injury time, Seko Fofana crossed from the right wing for Ronaldo to head into the near corner, sealing a 4-1 victory.
Brozovic finished, equalizing the 1-1 draw for Al Nassr in the match against host Al Taawoun on November 30. Photo: X / Al Nassr
The goal against Al Taawoun marked one year since Ronaldo signed a contract with Al Nassr, after a controversial split with Man Utd.
In particular Saudi Pro League this season, the Portuguese striker is leading the top scorer list with 20 goals, more than three goals compared to Al Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic. CR7 also has nine assists – the most in the tournament. Next are Allan Saint-Maximin of Al Ahli, Alvaro Medran of Al Taawon, Mourad Batna of Al Wahda with eight assists.
Al Nassr is firmly in second place in the Saudi Pro League with 46 points, six points behind Al Hilal. After the match against Al Taawoun, Ronaldo and his teammates will be recorded for two weeks, then return to training in mid-January 2024.
Al Nassr will play the next match, meeting Al Feiha in the AFC Champions League on February 12, then playing Al-Fateh in the Saudi Pro League on February 15. Before that, they will attend the Riyadh Season Cup friendly tournament with Messi’s Inter Miami and Al Hilal.
