Reynaldo At The Saudi League

Cristiano Ronaldo took the first step, and his example drew dozens of big names to the Middle East.

In the previous two years, the Saudi league significantly raised the quality by investing hundreds of millions in the arrival of big names such as Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, Fabinho, Aymeric Laporte, and Neymar as the biggest of all mentioned, who himself commented similar to Ronaldo’s upon his arrival in Arabia.

Going to Saudi Arabia did not make Cristiano Ronaldo lazy but, on the contrary, made him work even harder to prove himself in a new environment and show everyone that he is truly one of the best players in history. 

So happy with his new club, veteran Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo said he couldn’t forgive himself for playing in Europe for so long and not immediately coming to Asia. 

Cristiano Ronaldo welcomed the beginning of 2023 in the shirt of Saudi Al Nassr after he had a disappointing episode at Manchester United. Although some condemned his departure to Arabia, which opened a whole wave of transfers to that climate, in the end, it turned out that the Portuguese superstar did not stop even at 38. 

Namely, throughout the 2023 season, Ronaldo scored 54 goals for Portugal and Al Nassr and was the top scorer this calendar year. Ronaldo outscored Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane (who each scored 52 goals) and Erling Haaland (with 50 goals). The last goal in 2023 was scored by Ronaldo in the match of the 19th round of the Saudi championship against Al Taawon in the 92nd minute. 

And that’s not everything.

Cristiano Ronaldo finished the 2023/24 season with a staggering 35 goals, becoming the highest scorer in a single Saudi Arabian championship season. He broke the record of former Al Nasr player Abderazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in the 2018/2019 season. Ronaldo is the only player who was the top scorer in four leagues. He also was the top scorer in the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A.

Cristiano Ronaldo won numerous titles, broke numerous records, and received various awards, but he had a hard time accepting the defeat on penalties in the Saudi Arabian Cup. 

It seems incredible that a man with such a career can still play with so much passion and not be able to hold back tears after losing the cup final in Saudi Arabia.

Besides, on the field, Cristiano Ronaldo is ahead of other players in other ways. The Forbes list of the highest-paid athletes is dominated by the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who has a legendary contract in Saudi Arabia. Cristiano Ronaldo is undisputedly worth $260 million per year in Al-Nassr.

With his 40^th birthday in sight, Ronaldo shows no signs of giving up. This summer, he will lead his country, Portugal, at EURO 2024 in Germany, and as he said, it’s the greatest pleasure in his life that he can represent and fight for his country on such a high level.

In this EURO, he can increase his record for the most goals scored in the EURO and also become the player with the most assists in the EURO tournament. If he scores a goal, which is almost certain, he will become the oldest player to score in the EURO.

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