Cristiano Ronaldo scored 4 goals in one Saudi Pro League game
Written by on February 10, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo scored all of Al Nassr’s goals in a 4-0 rout of Al Wehda in the Saudi league on Thursday as he passed the 500 league goal mark in his club career.
The 38-year-old Portuguese star now has 503 goals scored for five different teams stretched across five leagues.
He hit three for Sporting Lisbon in his fledgling career, 103 for Manchester United over two spells, 311 for Real Madrid and 81 at Juventus.
Ronaldo now has five for Al Nassr who he joined after the World Cup following his bitter divorce from United.
On Thursday, he hit the 500 mark in the 21st minute with a left-footed strike.
He made it 2-0 with his right foot just before the interval before his hat-trick arrived from the penalty spot eight minutes into the second half.
He added a fourth just after the hour mark when he was first to a rebound.
Ronaldo had opened his account for his new employers last Friday with a stoppage-time penalty in a 2-2 away draw against Al Fateh.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who holds the all-time records for Champions League and international goals, is banking more than 400 million euros for his surprise move to Saudi, according to sources close to Al Nassr.
The giant sum includes 200 million euros for promoting Saudi Arabia’s expected joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, the sources told AFP.
Ronaldo has become a figurehead for the conservative kingdom’s push to improve its reputation through sports — a process that has drawn accusations of “sportswashing,” or trying to sanitise its human rights record.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals for his new Saudi Arabian team Thursday, bringing his career tally in domestic leagues to 503.
Ronaldo, four days after his 38th birthday, scored twice in each half to help Al Nassr defeat Al Wehda 4-0 in a Saudi Pro League game.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner who starred for Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United joined Al Nassr after the World Cup. The Portugal star signed a contract through June 2025.
Ronaldo had a disappointing World Cup where he was benched in the knockout rounds and left the field in tears after Portugal lost in the quarterfinals to Morocco.
Cristiano Ronaldo is starting to make his mark in Saudi Arabia. The Portuguese striker has sparked enthusiasm with his arrival in Asian football, although his performance in his first two official matches was not what Al Nassr fans had hoped for.
He failed to score in his league debut against Al-Ettifaq and in the Saudi Super Cup against Al-Ittihad, but the third time was the charm. Ronaldo opened his account with a penalty against Al-Fateh and once he opened the scoring, it seems that he will be breaking all sorts of Saudi scoring records.
In an away clash with Al-Wehda, Ronaldo scored all four goals in a 4-0 victory.
Two good through balls from team-mates Ghareeb and Al Najei, left the Portuguese player one-on-one with the keeper and the former Real Madrid forward wasn’t in a merciful mood. He had two goals before half-time, the crowd was on fire and there were still two more to come in the second-half.
It was Ronaldo’s 61st match with three or more goals
The first was scored with his left foot, the second, with his right foot, slipping the ball under the goalkeeper’s legs; the third came from the penalty spot and the fourth was the result of a goalkeeping error.
His record in Saudi Arabia now stands at three league games and five goals. Just eight goals behind the current top scorer of the Saudi league.
Ronaldo has now scored three or more goals in 61 games throughout his illustrious career.
With the win, Al-Nassr remain joint top of the league with a game in hand and equal points as Al-Shabab.
