Attendances are slumping in the Saudi Pro League but Cristiano Ronaldo continues to shine for Al Nassr, scoring two sublime goals in their 4-3 victory over Qatari side Al Duhail on Tuesday
Cristiano Ronaldo insists that he “doesn’t care” about breaking records after cementing his place at the top of the global goalscoring charts for 2023.
With two stunning left-footed strikes, Ronaldo helped Al Nassr beat Qatari side Al Duhail – who Aston Villa loanee Philippe Coutinho plays for – 4-3 in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday. Despite boasting an incredible 43 goals for the calendar year, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner – who once quipped that ‘he doesn’t chase records, records chase him’ – has claimed that personal milestones aren’t his priority.
“I don’t care much about records,” Ronaldo, 38, is quoted as saying by Goal. “I’m just thinking about enjoying it at the moment. Our team is improving from one match to another.
“Our coach [Luis Castro] and the technical staff are making a great effort to make Al Nassr the strongest team. The key to continuing to achieve records is that I am having fun, and this is a beautiful thing in football and the secret of my continuity.
“I am happy that I scored goals and performed well, but Cristiano is different from others. I work well, and in the end, what I achieve comes with the help of my colleagues and the technical staff and most importantly I am having fun at the moment and helping Al Nassr and the Portuguese team.”
There were just 696 fans watching Al Ettifaq against Al Riyadh last weekend ( Image: Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images)
Ronaldo has also kept up his end of the bargain, averaging more than one goal per game this season, scoring 20 in 19 matches. Al Nassr are currently third in the league table on 22 points, four behind early pacesetters Al Hilal, who paid PSG £78million to sign Neymar but will have to do without him for the remainder of the campaign after suffering a devastating tear of his ACL and meniscus.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 42nd and 43rd goals of the calendar year on Tuesday ( Image: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus striker’s comments come as attendances slump in the Saudi Pro League following a honeymoon period thanks to an influx of talent from Europe over the summer. Al Ettifaq, managed by Steven Gerrard and captained by Jordan Henderson, were last Sunday condemned to a 1-0 defeat to Al Riyadh in front of fewer than 700 supporters.
Gerrard and Henderson, both Liverpool icons, recently made the move to the Middle East but were in front of a crowd smaller than those in the eighth tier of English football. Ronaldo’s Al Nassr regularly attract around 20,000 spectators, largely down to the superstar’s presence.
Source: mirror.co.uk
