Ronaldo Leaves Messi Behind to Set New Record in World Football After Al Shabab Brace in Saudi

• Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time leading goal-scorer in national leagues
• The forward attained this latest landmark after netting twice against Al Shabab in the Saudi League
• His greatest rival Lionel Messi lags behind in fourth position

Even at the ripe age of 38, Cristiano Ronaldo continues to shatter records.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus ace is the embodiment of the saying "age is just a number," and he recently added another milestone to his illustrious career by scoring twice for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

In a commanding 4-0 victory over Al-Shabab, Ronaldo notched two goals from the penalty spot, bringing his total to five goals in four games for the 2023/24 season, accompanied by two assists, Eurosport reports.

This also marked his 30th goal in the calendar year, placing him two goals ahead of Kylian Mbappe and just one behind Manchester City's goal scoring machine Erling Haaland.

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In this process, Ronaldo clinched yet another prestigious world record, solidifying his status as the all-time leading goal-scorer in national leagues with a remarkable 517 goals.

This achievement surpassed the previous record jointly held at 515 goals by the legendary Austrian-Czech footballer Josef Bican and Real Madrid icon Ferenc Puskás, as reported by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

What makes this feat even more impressive is that Ronaldo accomplished it while competing in three of Europe's top five leagues: the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, and Italian Serie A, along with finding the net in the Portuguese top-flight and, most recently, the Saudi Pro League.

Meanwhile, his eternal rival and fellow GOAT, Lionel Messi, lags behind in a distant fourth place with 496 goals, trailing Cristiano by a mere 21 goals.

Breakdown of Ronaldo's 517 goals

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Earlier, Sports Brief reported that the former Real Madrid striker has now increased his total tally to 849 goals, solidifying his status as the all-time leading scorer in football, according to data from Whoscored.

Additionally, he has surpassed Al-Hilal's Brazilian forward, Malcom, to become the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League.

Ronaldo has been in outstanding form this season, finding the back of the net five times in just two league matches.