Cristiano Ronaldo scores brilliant Saudi brace as Al Nassr pile pressure on title rivals | Football | Sport
Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years on Tuesday evening with a brilliant brace for Al Nassr in their Saudi Pro League tie against Al-Adalah. The Portuguese superstar was in fine form as he netted two in a 5-0 victory that kept his side within a point of league leaders Al-Ittihad.
After tucking away a well-placed penalty for Al-Nassar’s first, Ronaldo streamed past Al-Adalah centre-back Murtadha Al-Burayh and unleashed a thunderous strike with his weaker left foot that pierced the net and sent the away supporters into an absolute frenzy.
Goals from Ayman Yahya and Talisca twice widened the scoreline as Al Nassr picked up the 16th victory of their 2022-2023 campaign. Since joining the Saudi side in January, Ronaldo has got off to a flying start bagging 11 goals from nine league games and assisting two.
The 39-year-old put pen to paper on a two-year contract with Al Nassr worth a reported £175million per year – the highest wage ever received by a football player. Ronaldo also received a whopping £85million signing-on fee to sweeten the deal.
During a 21-year stint as a professional the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has won almost every major trophy there is to win outside of the World Cup and feels his legacy as the greatest player of all time is already secured.
“I’m the best player in history, in the good moments and the bad ones,” he told GOAL Arab. “I respect everyone’s preferences, but I’ve never seen anyone better than me. I have always thought that.
“No footballer can do the things I can. There’s no player more complete than me. I play well with both feet, I’m quick, powerful, good with the head, I score goals, I make assists. There are guys who prefer Neymar or Messi. But I tell you: there’s no-one more complete than me.
“No-one has won as many individual trophies as me. And I’m not speaking just of the Ballon d’Or. That says something, doesn’t it? It’s not just a result of the work I do in the gym, like some people think. It’s the sum of many things.
“Two legends like Floyd Mayweather and LeBron James don’t get to their perfect level by chance. Many factors coincide. To be at the top and to stay there, you have to have more talent than the others.”
