RIYADH – Cristiano Ronaldo performed a great comeback by scoring four goals in a single match, after being in a while of low condition.
The Portuguese who just passed his 38 years old birthday on 5th February, proved that he is still able to play as a top class striker in the age of retirement.
CR7 swept all the goals in Al-Nassr’s 4-0 victory against Al-Wehda in the away game of the Saudi Pro League on Thursday night.
He made all the goals within 40 minutes, helping his club to get their first win in the last three games, also their biggest victory in the last four months.
The Saudi club’s best striker Anderson Talisca was absent in this match due to suspension, giving Ronaldo more opportunities to take part in team attack.
Records Updated
After the match, Cristiano Ronaldo had collected a total of 824 goals in his career, including 503 from league matches, which is the most among the currently active players.
Among the record, 103 goals were from the English Premier League by serving Manchester United, 311 from Real Madrid in the Spanish LaLiga, 81 from Juventus in the Italian Serie A, 3 in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and 5 in the Saudi Pro League.
CR7 has performed 61 hat-tricks in his career, which achieved in 14 consecutive years, including 2023. He has done 31 of them after 30 years old, meaning that his scoring ability could be better in the last eight years.
This is also the eleventh time Ronaldo scored four goals or more in a single match, the highest in football history, three times more than his biggest rival Lionel Messi.
Messi scored a total of 490 league goals in his career across the LaLiga and French Ligue1.
The Portuguese also hold the record of most club goals in history with a total of 706, eight ahead of the Argentinian. He is the best scorer in the international competitions too with 118 goals.
Messi Injury and Might Quit UCL 1st Leg
While Ronaldo was performing remarkably in the Middle East, the football GOAT Lionel Messi is injured and will be absent in upcoming matches.
The iconic superstar who led team Argentina to win the FIFA World Cup 2022, was wounded in the Coupe de France round of 16 between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille on Wednesday.
PSG lost 1-2 in the away game and were eliminated.
Messi confirmed to miss the Ligue 1 match against Monaco this weekend, and might not play in the clash with Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg at Parc des Princes next Tuesday.
The Argentinian’s absence will give Paris another impact in their UCL mission, as they already lost Kylian Mbappe for next week’s battle.
If both of them are out from the rivalry, Neymar will be PSG’s only core player to lead their attacking line, making them less likely to win against the German giant club.
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