Cristiano Ronaldo sets new Saudi Pro League goals record with double against Al Ittihad

Cristiano Ronaldo may have missed out on the Saudi Pro League title but the Portuguese superstar did end the campaign with a new goalscoring record.

Ronaldo, 39, scored twice in Al Nassr's 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on Monday that took his league tally to 35 goals, one more than the record previously set in 2019 by Abderrazak Hamdallah.

In the final seconds of the first half, Ronaldo, who already had two goals ruled out for offside, chested down a long pass from Mohammed Al Fatil and opened the scoring with a low shot from the left side of the area.

With 21 minutes remaining, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner celebrated wildly after heading home a corner from Marcelo Brozovic. He was substituted off the field five minutes later to a standing ovation from the home fans.

"I don't follow the records, the records follow me," he wrote in an Instagram post.

It ended an action-packed season for Ronaldo, who scored four hat-tricks and collected one red card. He was also suspended for an obscene gesture in February aimed at Al Shabab fans who had been chanting the name of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s longstanding rival.

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

After being eliminated by eventual winners Al Ain in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League in March, Al Nassr finished second in the league, 14 points behind local rivals Al Hilal, who finished their league campaign unbeaten.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, a summer signing from Premier League side Fulham, ended the season with a goal in the final seconds to clinch a 2-1 win over Al Wehda. The Serbian striker reached 27 league goals, second only to Ronaldo.

Al Hilal's 19th title, a Saudi record, was built largely on the back of a world-record 34-game win streak, broken only