Cristiano Ronaldo Sets New Goal Scoring Record In SPL—-Cristiano Ronaldo has set a new record for the most goals in a Saudi Pro League season, scoring his 34th and 35th goals in Al Nassr’s final game of the campaign.
“I don’t follow the records, the records follow me,” the 39-year-old Portuguese forward tweeted after the game.
Ronaldo, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, found the net in first-half stoppage time and again in the 69th minute with a header, helping Al Nassr secure a 4-2 home victory over Al Ittihad on Monday.
The previous record of 34 goals in a single season was held by Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, set in the 2018-19 season.
Despite Ronaldo’s remarkable performance, Al Nassr finished second in the league, trailing 14 points behind champions Al Hilal.
Ronaldo joined the Riyadh-based club in December 2022, marking the beginning of a trend of high-profile international players moving to the Saudi league on lucrative contracts.
Ronaldo, who led Portugal to victory in the 2016 Euros, has been named to the squad for this year’s edition in Germany, marking his 11th international tournament.
He holds the record for the most appearances in men’s international football with 206 caps and is the top scorer with 128 goals.
It is the first major title for Tottenham since it won the English League Cup in 2008, and its first European triumph since it won its second UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — in 1984.
Brennan Johnson squeezed in the winner at the end of the first half on Wednesday to help Spurs salvage a dismal season, in which it will finish near the bottom of the Premier League standings.
The title guarantees Spurs a spot in next season’s Champions League, and brings some much-needed relief for manager Ange Postecoglou after he struggled to keep his team on track all year.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Brennan Johnson, left, scores their first goal [Vincent West/Reuters]
The victory comes six years after Tottenham fell short against Liverpool in the Champions League final.
The defeat adds pressure on United coach Ruben Amorim, whose team sits in 16th place — just ahead of Tottenham — in the Premier League. The club will not play in any European competition next season.
United came close to equalising the match on Wednesday when a header by Rasmus Hojlund was cleared at the goal line by Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven in the 68th.
Deep into stoppage time, a header by Luke Shaw prompted a difficult save by Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven clears the ball off the line [Andrew Couldridge/Reuters]
It had been an even match, with neither team creating many significant scoring opportunities, until Tottenham got on the board in the 42nd minute after a cross by Pape Sarr into the area.
The ball ricocheted off Shaw and fell in front of Johnson, who seemed to get just enough of it to poke it across the goal line.
United pressed forward after conceding, but was not able to get the equaliser in front of a split crowd of nearly 50,000 at Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium.
Manchester United’s captain, Bruno Fernandes, looks dejected as he walks past the trophy after collecting his runners-up medal [Isabel Infantes/Reuters]
United had last won a trophy in the 2024 FA Cup, and its last European triumph was at the 2017 Europa League under manager Jose Mourinho.
The Red Devils lost all four matches against Tottenham this season and is winless against its rival in seven straight games, with the last six under Postecoglou.
United and Tottenham had met in just one previous final — the 2009 League Cup when Alex Ferguson’s United won 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Tottenham striker Son Heung-min, who came off the bench in the 67th, finally ended his decade-long trophy drought with Spurs.