For all it’s worth, declaring Cristiano Ronaldo one of the greatest soccer players ever is not far-fetched. His career has been mostly defined by his hard work, but there’s more to his game than that, even though he always credits how hard he works off the pitch for his on-field performance. However, when you decide to paint the narrative, one thing you can’t take away from the Portuguese striker is how big a star he is.
He’s the world’s greatest goalscorer, which is ironic, considering how, in his early years, he was known for his showboating, especially during his formative years at Manchester United. He has since grown into one of the deadliest finishers of the ball, and he showed that again yesterday when he netted a hat-trick to help Al-Nassr secure an emphatic win over the opposition.
WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo records emphatic hattrick
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals post-30 than he ever did before he clocked that age, which means he has sacrificed a lot from his game to become the deadly finisher of the ball we all know today. Anyone who watched Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United would know the younger version of the Portuguese star would rather try to get past several players with step-overs than actually score. This has changed drastically, as Ronaldo has turned himself into a goal machine.
The Portuguese striker showed why he’s regarded as one of the world’s greatest finishers, as he netted a first-half hat-trick to further extend his goal tally for the 23/24 season. The former Real Madrid star brought back old memories as he showed off his ability to still control deadball situations. He netted two incredible free-kick goals to give his team an early two-goal advantage before scoring a thunderous chip to net his third for the night.
He also provided two assists on the night, with the first one going to former Liverpool and Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane, who scored the team’s third goal in the eight-goal thriller. Al-Nassr ran riot over the opposition, as they went on to score eight goals in the game while also fighting hard to keep a clean sheet as they moved three points closer to runaway league leaders, Al-Hilal, who have a 12-point advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo’s team.
Cristiano Ronaldo on course for historic feat
Cristiano Ronaldo showed no signs of slowing down yesterday as he netted another hat-trick just a few days after banging three against Al-Tai in the league. The back-to-back hat-tricks have raised his goal tally for the season to 29 goals in just 24 matches. This makes him the league’s top scorer, seven more than his closest competitor, Aleksandar Mitrovic, who is arguably the best rival player for Cristiano Ronaldo, as his goals have helped Al-Hilal stay comfortable at the top of the league.
With just a few games left to play, Ronaldo could win the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer throughout the season. If he does this, he’ll become the first player to achieve this feat in four different leagues, after previously doing so in England, Spain, and Italy, per Mundo Deportivo. His first Golden Boot award came as a Manchester United player in 2008 when he scored more than 30 league goals. He also landed his first Ballon d’Or award that season, thanks to his domestic and European heroics.
He won the award, the Pichichi trophy, three times as a Real Madrid player as he often competed with Lionel Messi, and on one occasion, Luis Suarez, who had the likes of Messi and Neymar to help him win the award. He also won another one in his second season at Juventus where he scored more than 20 league goals to help the Old Lady win the league title.
