Ronaldo overtakes Al-Sahlawi in Saudi Pro League scoring record as Al Nassr win

Cristiano Ronaldo moved into fourth place outright in the Saudi Pro League’s all-time scoring list after helping Al Nassr beat Al-Diriyah 3-0 on Friday.

The Portugal forward scored the opening goal in the 23rd minute of the eighth-round match at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, taking his league total to 106 goals.

Ronaldo’s goal moved him one clear of Mohamed Al-Sahlawi, who had previously held fourth place in the scoring standings. The milestone was confirmed by Opta, which records the league’s statistics from the professional era.

Al Nassr’s opener came after French winger Kingsley Coman struck a powerful effort that was saved by goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah. The ball fell to Ronaldo in front of an unguarded goal, allowing him to finish from close range.

The result continued Ronaldo’s record-breaking run in Saudi football, although he remains eight goals short of sharing third place with Nasser Al-Shamrani, who scored 114 times in the competition.

Umar Al Somah leads the all-time list with 161 goals, while Abderrazak Hamdallah is second on 158. Al-Shamrani is currently third with 114, followed by Ronaldo on 106.

Ronaldo also equalled Al-Shamrani’s record for scoring against the highest number of different teams in the competition. Al-Diriyah became the 24th club against whom the 41-year-old has scored in the Saudi Pro League.

Only three players have found the net against more teams. Salem Al-Dawsari and Umar Al Somah have both scored against 27 different clubs, while Hamdallah has done so against 26.

Ronaldo has scored four goals in the current Saudi Pro League campaign. He is seven goals behind England striker Ivan Toney, who leads the scoring chart with 11.

The goal against Al-Diriyah was Ronaldo’s first in the match, which Al Nassr won by three goals. His latest landmark further strengthened his position among the competition’s leading scorers since the beginning of the professional era.