Cristiano Ronaldo famously took immense pride in his age-defying milestone of becoming last year’s top goal-scorer. He cheered himself for beating ‘young animals’ like Erling Haaland to a staggering 54-goal tally at the age of 38. However, some critics downplay CR7’s achievement, citing that he is playing in the less competitive Roshn Saudi League. Now, the 5x-Ballon d’Or winner fired back at such critics with a reality check surrounding the difficulty professionals face in finding the back of the net, despite the league, location, or anything.
In a recent interview with Record, Cristiano Ronaldo said his goal-scoring feat meant much more than any award because numbers speak volumes. Soon, he gave a staunching reply to critics who tried to raise questions about his feat. “The 54 goals I scored, there may be those who say that it is easier because I am in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But football professionals know the difficulty goals of scoring, whether in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, or Portugal. A goal is a goal. Yes, I’m more proud of beating Haaland, Mbappe, and Kane,” said Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo not only thinks goals scoring in the Saudi League is equally difficult, but he also claims the RSL’s quality has seen a dramatic rise. He claimed that it is well ahead of France’s Ligue 1. He also added that the Saudi Arabian competition will soon be among soccer’s top three leagues. While that was a far-fetched claim, CR7 assured that he was here to stay. Surely, he won’t just stay quiet but again compete with the Haalands of the world.
Suddenly after officially becoming the top-scorer in 2023, CR7 said in an interview that he would repeat the same feat in 2024. Recently, at the Globe Soccer Awards, he joked he would play another 10 years. Although playing at 48 looks like a distant dream, Cristiano Ronaldo not-so-subtly stated he will stay in the game even during his 40s. That is indeed plausible, and Haaland, Mbappe, and Kane may even end up playing second fiddle to the 38-year-old.
Considering the staggering number of competitions he will feature in, CR7 could give tough competition to these European goal machines this year as well. The RSL aside, Al Nassr features in all major domestic and continental competitions this year. The team partakes in seven of them outside of the Saudi League. European teams, on the other hand, usually feature in six competitions a year. Therefore, more matches means the Al Nassr skipper has a clear advantage, doesn’t he? What are your thoughts? Will CR7 do it again? Tell us in the comments below.