The double in Al Nassr’s 4-2 victory over Al Ittihad in the final round helped Cristiano Ronaldo end the 2023-2024 season with 35 goals.

With this achievement, the Portuguese striker made history by becoming the player who scored the most goals in a Saudi Pro League season. The old record was set by former Al Nassr and Morocco team striker Abderrazak Hamdallah in the 2018–2019 season, with 34 goals.

Ronaldo celebrates his goal in the 4-2 defeat of Al Ittihad. Photo: Al Nassr

Ronaldo was denied two goals in the first half against Al Ittihad due to offside. But just before the break, he controlled a pass from Mohammed Al-Fatil with his chest and opened the scoring with a low shot from the left side of the penalty area. With 21 minutes left in the match, Ronaldo headed the score to 2-0 for Al Nassr after a corner kick from Marcelo Brozovic.

The winner of the five Golden Balls left the field five minutes later, and the fans stood up and applauded. When Ronaldo left the field, Al Nassr led by two goals and played better after Al Ittihad defender Salmeen Al Manhali received a red card. However, the home team experienced some nervous moments at the end of the match before Meshari Al-Nemer scored to score 4-2 in the fifth minute of injury time.

Ronaldo has scored four hat-tricks this season and received one red card. The 39-year-old striker was banned for making an obscene gesture in February in response to Al Shabab fans, who chanted Lionel Messi’s name to tease him.

Ronaldo played for Sporting Lisbon, Man Utd, Real, and Juventus before joining Al Nassr in January 2023. This is the first season he has played fully for the Saudi Arabian club. Ronaldo owns many records in his football career and is still conquering new milestones, even though he is 39 years old.

Although Ronaldo had a successful season, Al Nassr was disappointing when he only won second place in the Saudi Pro League despite bringing in stars like Sadio Mane or Brozovic. They ended the season with 82 points after 34 rounds, 14 points behind top team, Al Hilal.

Despite losing Neymar due to injury, Al Hilal is still too strong compared to the rest. In the final round, Aleksandar Mitrovic’s late goal helped Al Hilal win 2-1 against Al Wehda. This is Mitrovic’s 27th goal this season, helping him finish second in the top-scorer race behind Ronaldo. This result also helps Al Hilal extend their winning streak in all competitions to 34 matches, a new record in the Saudi Pro League.