Cristiano Ronaldo changes retirement plan as he refuses to let go of Lionel Messi rivalry
Cristiano Ronaldo may have excelled in the Saudi Pro League since joining Al-Nassr following his departure from Manchester United last November. But the 38-year-old has still been unable to match the output of a player who is nicknamed the Executioner and currently plays for Al-Nassr’s rivals Al-Ittihad.
Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr at the start of the year and has since racked up 40 goals for the Saudi team as well as 10 goals for Portugal throughout 2023. But back in 2019, Abderrazak Hamdallah bagged an incredible 57 goals throughout the calendar year while he was plying his trade for Ronaldo’s current employers.
Hamdallah joined Al-Nassr from Qatari side Al-Rayyan in the summer of 2018. And the next year he proved to be a goal machine as he wreaked havoc on opposition defences virtually every time he took to the pitch. He finished 2019 with more strikes than anyone else on the planet as his confidence in front of goal appeared to grow by the minute. But, still, he was only picked for his national team Morocco on one occasion throughout the entire year.
Hamdallah, who left Al-Nassr at the start of 2022, is a very good striker in the Saudi Pro League and has scored 13 goals in 18 matches across all competitions for Al-Ittihad this season. But the fact the 32-year-old has never made it in Europe and has only scored six goals in 24 appearances for Morocco illustrates the difference in standard between the Saudi Pro League and the European leagues Ronaldo has played in in the past.
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Ronaldo could still surpass Hamdallah’s record from four years ago if he gets his goalscoring boots on between now and the end of the year. But the achievement may not be comparable to anything he did during his days at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 games for Real, before finding the back of the net 101 times in 134 appearances for Juventus. And across two spells at Old Trafford, the veteran returned 145 goals in 346 matches.
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“I am happy here, I want to continue here, I will continue here,” Ronaldo said in the summer as he spoke about his Al-Nassr future. “And in my opinion if they continue to do the work that they want to do here, for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be a top five league in the world.
“I will be part of your world, your culture – I will be here. I hope I make the people enjoy through my games, my performance, and to win things.”
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