Cristiano Ronaldo made the infamous move to Al Nassr in January following the fall out with Erik ten Hag during his time with Manchester United last year. Since then, Ronaldo has been dethroned from the GOAT talks after Messi won his first-ever World Cup and his eighth Ballon d’Or. Though all eyes are on the Argentine, Ronaldo has not lost his scoring form as he enters his first full season in the Saudi Pro League.
Form this season
Ronaldo has been looking like his old self since settling in with his new club, scoring 13 goals with seven assists in just 12 matches played so far. He leads the league in both goals and assists, totaling 20 goals contributors in less than 15 games. Al Nassr is currently second in the table, just four-points shy of their cross-town rivals Al-Hilal.
If Ronaldo keeps it up, he could be on pace to break the single-season scoring record in the league, which is 34, held by Moroccan international Abderrazak Hamdallah. To put it in even better terms, Al Nassr has scored a total of 36 goals in league play, with Ronaldo contributing to 55 percent of that.
Though a shot accuracy of 42%, Ronaldo has totaled 76 shots in those 12 matches, which puts him at an average of 17 shots per match. That is a menace for all opposing defenders in Saudi Arabia. It also brings him back to the days where he was a lethal goal scorer back in his time with both Real Madrid and Juventus.
Still scoring with the national team
Despite not playing in Europe, Ronaldo is still getting the job done with the national team as he is preparing to play in what could be his final international tournament with Portugal. In the nine matches this year for the UEFA European Championship Qualifiers, he has scored 10, including four braces.
Portugal finished undefeated in Group J with 10 straight wins and was one of the first teams to qualify for the 2024 Euros. Although Ronaldo already has a Euro Cup trophy, he would love to have another one on his shelf as he will be entering the tournament as one of the best forwards this season. He will also want to make up for a poor World Cup performance, which even saw him benched by former head coach Fernando Santos.
Life in Saudi Arabia
Ronaldo seems to be liking the new life in Saudi Arabia and has not complained since moving there. He has posted pictures of his girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, and his five children living life in Saudi Arabia. His eldest son, Cristiano Junior, has even signed a deal with Al Nassr and has been playing with its U13 team.
Though life seems good for Ronaldo, he was recently under fire after hugging a female Iranian painter in public back in October. While it was an act of kindness, it is illegal and against Islamic culture for a man and a woman to hug each other in public from the age of seven. Luckily, the Iranian government did not sentence him to any punishment as he was only there to participate in the Asian Champions League against Persepolis F.C.