Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo is first player to score 100 goals for four professional clubs but Al Nassr lose final to Al-Ahli.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 competitive goals for four different clubs, though Al Nassr lost to Al-Ahli in a penalty shootout after the Saudi Super Cup final ended 2-2.

The first half strike at Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday took the 40-year-old to his century for the Saudi Arabian club, which he joined in December 2022.

It adds to his 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United and 101 for Juventus and moves Ronaldo ahead of the three players who had scored 100 times for three clubs: Isidro Langara, who played in Spain from 1930 to 1948, as well as Brazilian stars Romario and Neymar.

Ronaldo, who has yet to win a major trophy in Saudi Arabia, is also the leading international goalscorer with 138 goals for Portugal.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner put Al Nassr ahead after 41 minutes with a penalty, though Franck Kessie quickly equalised for Al-Ahli.

With seven minutes remaining, Marcelo Brozovic restored Al Nassr’s lead, but there was still time for Brazilian defender Ibanez to head home a corner and take the game into a penalty shootout.

Ronaldo scored once more from the spot, but his teammate Abdullah al-Khaibari did not, and Al-Ahli won 5-3 to lift the first trophy of the Saudi Arabian season.

Ronaldo and his Saudi club side Al Nassr made the new deal official via social media, putting an end to rumours he could sign elsewhere.

Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, the club announced, following weeks of speculation over which team he would sign for next season.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is staying at @AlNassrFC until 2027,” the club wrote in a post on X on Thursday.

Minutes before the official confirmation, the team posted a teaser video, with the 40-year-old Ronaldo walking along a beachfront and saying: “Al Nassr forever.”

The Portuguese superstar arrived in 2023 in the kingdom to play with the club, heralding a rush of players in the latter stages of their careers to the oil-rich country.

Last month, Ronaldo posted “This chapter is over” hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al Nassr finishing third and trophy-less once again.

“Ronaldo’s presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia,” a source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football, told AFP last month.

The oil-funded PIF, the sovereign wealth fund behind a number of big-ticket Saudi investments, controls a group of Pro League clubs including Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli.

Time for a title

Ronaldo’s announcement in May came just months after Brazilian star Neymar ended his injury-plagued 18-month stay in January, after playing just seven times for Al Hilal – on a reported salary of about $104m a year.

Although Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer with 25 goals, he has been unable to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al Nassr, who lost in the Asian Champions League semifinals last month.

Last year, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr, the Riyadh team favoured by a number of Saudi royals.

Saudi Arabia has shaken up football by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo’s move in late 2022, and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034.

For the past two years, Saudi football fans could watch the likes of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, with six Ballons d’Or between them, on any given weekend during the football season in the kingdom.

However, the oil-fuelled Saudi football project has drawn comparisons with the Chinese Super League, which imported players on exorbitant salaries until team owners went bust as the Chinese economy fizzled.

But with Saudi Arabia set to host the 2034 World Cup, and desperate to re-model itself as a tourism and business magnet before global oil demand falls for good, there is probably more to come from the Pro League.

Ronaldo appeared to trade an end-of-career payday for football obscurity when he first moved to Riyadh’s Al Nassr two years ago in a deal said to be worth $250m at the time.

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— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) June 26, 2025