Al Nasr striker Cristiano Ronaldo’s record will never be broken.
This season, Ronaldo has been playing beyond his years for Al Nasr. In 26 Saudi Pro League games, he leads the team with 29 goals and 10 assists. In the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, Al Nasr were knocked out in the quarterfinals, but Ronaldo did his part with six goals and one assist in eight games.
His recent performances have been particularly impressive. Ronaldo scored a multi-goal performance in the Saudi King’s Cup on February 2, leading his team to a 3-1 victory. Led by Ronaldo’s performance, Al Nasr defeated Al Khaleej to advance to the Saudi King’s Cup final.
The form continued in the Asian Champions League. After being held scoreless in the first leg of the quarterfinals against Al Ain, Ronaldo scored a penalty in the 13th minute of extra time in the second leg of the quarterfinals to send the game into extra time. Although the team was eliminated in the penalty shootout after three kickers missed, Ronaldo was the highest rated player on both sides.
Ronaldo is spending the final years of his career in the Saudi Professional League. After making his professional debut with 바카라 Sporting CP, Ronaldo moved to Manchester United and then Real Madrid, where he became one of the best players in the world. He then went on to win the Serie A Player of the Year award at Juventus after turning 30.
Ronaldo returned to United ahead of the 2021-22 season. In 2021-22, Ronaldo led United’s attack as the team’s top scorer and was named to the PFA Team of the Year. However, Ronaldo had a falling out with manager Louis van Gaal following his arrival at United last season and gave an interview in which he publicly criticized the club and Van Gaal.
United eventually took this as a protest and terminated Ronaldo’s contract. As a free agent, Ronaldo looked to stay in Europe but received no offers. He eventually moved to Asia, signing a huge contract with Al Nasr in the Saudi Arabian Professional League.
Ronaldo had a breakout season with Al Nasr. He led his team to victory in the Arab Club Champions Cup, scoring six goals in six games. Ronaldo became the world’s top scorer last year. He scored 54 goals, surpassing Harry Kane (52) and Kylian Mbappe (52).
This season, Ronaldo’s form has continued. Led by Ronaldo’s form, Al Nasr remain second in the Saudi Pro League with 23 wins, two draws, four losses, and 71 points. They are nine points behind first-place Al Hilal, but are in a strong position to qualify for the Asian Champions League next season.
When asked to name the best players in the world right now, many people will point to Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Elling Holland, Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami). But the best of the 2007-08 season was Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was playing for Manchester United in the 2007-08 season. In that season, Ronaldo scored 42 goals and provided 12 assists in 48 games, giving him a whopping 54 offensive points in a single season. Ronaldo won four trophies that season. Ronaldo won the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, and Community Shield with United.
He also swept individual awards. Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded to the world’s best player of the season, and he dominated the Premier League Goalscorer, Premier League Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, Champions League Goalscorer, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Player of the Year, and European Football Association (UEFA) Player of the Year.
What’s even more amazing is that Ronaldo did all of this while playing in midfield. At the time, United were playing a 4-4-2 formation under Alex Ferguson, with Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha up front and either Ryan Giggs and Ronaldo or Park Ji-Sung and Ronaldo in the left and right midfield.
This was before Messi had even formed a rivalry with Ronaldo, who had just made his debut for Barcelona. Rather, Ronaldinho and Kaka were his main competitors. Stopping Ronaldo this season was next to impossible. The ‘midfielder’ could head, dribble, kick, shoot, and do all the tricks of the trade.