Ronaldo begins 25th season with 977th goal in Al- Nassr win

Five Ballon d’Or awards winner Cristiano Ronaldo marked the start of his 25th professional season with his 977th career goal as Al- Nassr resumed their Saudi Pro League campaign with a 4-0 victory over Al -Riyadh here at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Friday.

The 41-year-old Portugal international returned to the Al- Nassr squad for the first time since the World Cup, having also recently married.

New manager Ange Postecoglou named Ronaldo among the substitutes for the league fixture.

Al -Nassr had already established a commanding lead before Ronaldo entered the field in the 62nd minute.

Abdulelah Al-Amri opened the scoring before Angelo Gabriel and Joao Felix added further goals to put the visitors 3-0 ahead.

Ronaldo then made his mark seven minutes before full-time. The forward expertly dragged back a low cross from Aiman Yahya before calmly sweeping the ball into the net from eight yards.

The goal moved Ronaldo another step closer to the landmark 1,000-goal milestone and extended his remarkable scoring record since joining Al- Nassr in December 2022.

It was also his 130th goal for the Saudi club in all competitions, further underlining his influence since moving to the Middle East.

Ronaldo had missed Al- Nassr’s opening league victory against Al- Fateh last week and was also absent from their King’s Cup win over Al Diriyah on Tuesday.

It is pertinent to mention that his return could provide a major boost for Postecoglou as Al- Nassr look to challenge for honours this season.