Legendary Portuguese goal-machine Cristiano Ronaldo has matched Nigerian international striker Odion Ighalo’s goal-scoring record in the Saudi Pro League, Footynaija.com reports.
Ronaldo struck twice for Al Nassr in the second half of their Pro League game against Al Riyadh to inspire a spirited 2-1 come-from-behind victory at the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on Saturday.
The 40-year-old’s brace summed up to 23rd strike in 26 league appearances this season and 32nd in 35 appearances across all competitions.
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Interestingly, with his second goal on Saturday, Ronaldo notched his 72nd League goal in Al Nassr colours, making him the joint eight-highest goalscorer in Saudi Pro League history alongside former Super Eagles and Manchester United striker Ighalo.
It is worthy of note that it took Ronaldo only 73 matches in Saudi’s top flight to deliver such impressive numbers. Meanwhile Ighalo, who has played in the Saudi Pro League since 2021, needed 128 appearances across three different clubs.
Currently on the books at Al Wehda, Ighalo, who once upon a time dominated Saudi Arabia in Al Hilal colours, has struggled for form this season with only five goals in 26 Pro League appearances.
As for Ronaldo, the Portuguese national team and Al Nassr skipper is showing no signs of slowing down despite clocking 40 years of age back in February. He is now primed to potentially surpass Ighalo’s goal-scoring record when Al Nassr travel to Al Qadasiya on Friday, April 18.
With 933 career goals to his name at the time of writing, the Real Madrid and Manchester legend will surely now be aiming to reach 1000.
