Cristiano Ronaldo is set to end the year as the top scorer in world football for 2023 having netted once again in Al-Nassr‘s 4-1 win over Al-Taawoun on Saturday.
The forward has enjoyed a successful spell in Saudi Arabia after joining the league from Manchester United in January, helping his side maintain another title push against Al-Hilal.
His strike against Al-Taawoun took him to 54 goals for the year, including international football, with only a handful of teams left to play before the calendar year is up.
Ronaldo was trailing both Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane prior to Boxing Day, with both Ligue 1, where Mbappe plays, and the Bundesliga, where Kane plays, in the middle of a winter break, so not currently playing.
Both Kane and Mbappe will end the year with 52 goals, with Ronaldo’s most recent strike taking him clear in front with 54.
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to end 2023 as the highest scorer in world football for the fifth time
The Al-Nassr forward scored another goal for his side in their 4-1 victory over Al-Taawoun
Kylian Mbappe (left) and Harry Kane (right) will both end the year on 52 goals each amid their sides’ winter breaks
Al-Nassr beat last year’s Saudi Pro League winners Al-Ittihad 5-2 on Boxing Day, with Ronaldo scoring twice from the penalty spot.
Those goals took him one ahead of his rivals, giving him one game to spare as he moved clear as the outright leading scorer for 2023 out of all players worldwide.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t slowing down this weekend, however, netting two more goals on Saturday as he celebrated yet another accolade.
Erling Haaaland will finish up on 50 goals having missed Manchester City’s last six games through injury
Another player who could have run the forward close is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, but he has been sidelined for the last few games through injury.
A foot issue has meant the Premier League record-breaker has missed City’s last four Premier League matches, as well as the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
He netted 50 goals overall in the year.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, takes the accolade for the fifth time, also finishing top scorer in the world in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 while at Real Madrid.
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