Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of Saudi Arabian football club Al Nassr, is in fierce competition for the title of top scorer for the year 2023, aiming for this recognition for the first time since 2015 and for the fifth time in his career. Ronaldo currently holds the second position on the list of top scorers in 2023 with 50 goals, tied with Norwegian star Erling Haaland, Manchester City's top scorer, and just one goal behind English striker Harry Kane of Bayern Munich, who leads the global scoring ranking.
Harry Kane has one match left this year, facing VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday evening as part of the 16th round of the Bundesliga. Meanwhile, it seems that Haaland's 2023 may be largely over due to a muscle injury keeping him away from matches for Manchester City, both in the ongoing Club World Cup taking place in Saudi Arabia and in the Premier League.
Additionally, we should not overlook French forward Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain, who has scored 49 goals so far and has a chance to increase his tally this evening when he faces FC Metz in the final match for him this year in Ligue 1.
Thus, Ronaldo has a significant opportunity to clinch the title of world top scorer in 2023, especially with three matches remaining before the end of the year for Al Nassr, where he will face Al-Ettifaq, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Tai on December 22, 26, and 30, respectively, in the Roshn Saudi Professional League.
Ronaldo will have a great chance to increase his goal count and reclaim his title for the first time since 2015. He has previously achieved the title of world top scorer on four occasions in the years 2011 (60 goals), 2013 (69 goals), 2014 (61 goals), and 2015 (57 goals) with Real Madrid.
Here is the current ranking of the world’s top scorers in 2023:
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) - 51 goals
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) - 50 goals
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - 50 goals
