Veteran Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo said after breaking the record for the most goals in a single season in the Saudi football league, "I am not chasing record numbers; records chase me." The 39-year-old scored two goals during his team's 4-2 victory over Al-Ittihad on Monday in the final round of the league, where his team Al-Nassr finished in second place, 14 points behind champions Al-Hilal.
Ronaldo raised his total for the season to 35 goals, just one goal ahead of Al-Ittihad’s Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals for Al-Nassr in the 2018-2019 season. The five-time World Player of the Year, who was honored by his teammates with a guard of honor after his achievement at Al-Awwal Park, said, "I am very happy, firstly for ending the season with a win, and then achieving a league record that I did not expect. This is significant in my career."
Ronaldo, who secured the league's top scorer title with a seven-goal lead over Serbian Aleksandar Mitrović of Al-Hilal, mentioned the upcoming cup final match against Al-Hilal specifically, saying, "The most important thing is the team. We are in good shape. The next goal is to win the King’s Cup."
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star called for fairness in the final match, where he hopes to win his first domestic title in Saudi Arabia, “We will give our best and hope that the competition is great and fair.”
Since joining in a blockbuster deal in January 2023, Ronaldo helped Al-Nassr secure the Arab Champions Cup title in August 2023 in Taif, defeating Al-Hilal 2-1 after extra time. Ronaldo, who is the most capped and highest-scoring player in international matches with 128 goals in 206 games, will wear the Portugal colors in the European Championship next month in Germany after being selected for the Seleção squad that led him to the title in 2016, marking his 11th major tournament in his illustrious career.
