Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 980th official goal of his career after opening the scoring for Al-Nassr against Diriyah on Friday evening in the eighth round of the Saudi Pro League.
The goal came in the 41-year-old’s first appearance since his controversial departure from the Portugal national team camp, swiftly shifting the narrative from his dispute with manager Jorge Jesus back to his historic pursuit of the 1,000-goal mark.
In the 23rd minute, Al-Nassr launched a counter-attack capped off by a powerful strike from Kingsley Coman. Diriyah goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah failed to hold the ball, allowing Ronaldo to react sharpest and slot home from close range to give his side the lead.
Ronaldo had found the net minutes earlier only for the effort to be ruled out for offside, before returning to capitalize on the goalkeeper’s error—capping off an evening in which Al-Nassr supporters welcomed him with a massive tifo celebrating his career and record-breaking goal haul for the club.
The Portuguese captain brought his tally to 4 league goals this season, moving into a tie for fifth place in the Saudi Pro League golden boot race alongside a group of players, trailing leader Ivan Toney (11 goals), as well as Trincão, Alexandre Lacazette, and Mateo Retegui (5 goals each).
The strike marked Ronaldo’s 106th goal for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League era, further cementing his status as the club’s all-time top scorer in the competition after surpassing Mohammad Al-Sahlawi, who tallied 103 league goals for the Yellows.
Across all competitions, Ronaldo has now registered 133 goals for Al-Nassr. His 980 official career goals are distributed as follows: 450 for Real Madrid, 146 for the Portugal national team, 145 for Manchester United, 133 for Al-Nassr, 101 for Juventus, and 5 for Sporting CP.
The goal carried extra significance given the difficult days Ronaldo experienced after walking out of the Portugal camp when he was left unused against Norway despite warming up from the start of the second half. He subsequently accused Jesus of failing to honor a promise to play him, before apologizing to fans for leaving without greeting them.
By answering on the pitch in his first match following the fallout, Ronaldo stands just 20 goals away from reaching the milestone of 1,000 official goals—the primary target he has set before his retirement—with his scoring rate in the coming months determining whether he reaches the landmark figure this season.
