Despite his age of 38, Cristiano Ronaldo showed no signs of decline or submission to Father Time. The Portuguese forward recently clinched the Saudi Pro League Player of the Month award for December 2023 with his contributions of five goals and a couple of assists in Al-Nassr‘s five matches in the Saudi league, leading the club to achieve 12 points out of a maximum 15 as a result. The Saudi Pro League Player of the Month award in December 2023 became Ronaldo’s fourth Saudi Pro League Player of the Month award in the overall of the previous calendar year, who left European club football and joined the oil-rich Saudi region back in January 2023.
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Ronaldo: Four Saudi Pro League Player of the Month Awards in 2023
Ronaldo, who turns 39 next month, impressively beat the likes of Kylian Mbappé from France and Paris Saint-Germain, Harry Kane from England and Bayern Munich / Tottenham Hotspur as well as Erling Haaland from Norway and Manchester City to conclude the previous calendar year as world football’s top scorer in 2023. Hence, with the consistent and brilliant performance the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had in 2023, it was not a surprise that he would bag the final Saudi Pro League Player of the Month award in 2023.
The Saudi Pro League Player of the Month Ronaldo won for his showing in December 2023 was added to the same individual accolades he received back in February, August and September 2023. In those 53 goals in 59 games played for club and country, the former Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus megastar contributed 25 goals in the second half of the 2022/2023 Season and 24 goals in the 2023/2024 Season thus far for Al-Nassr.
In addition to 49 club goals for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League and other domestic and continental cup competitions, the 38-year-old Ronaldo also translated his incredible form to the 2016 UEFA European Championship winners Portugal, netting 10 goals in nine matches for Seleção das Quinas following their disappointing quarterfinal exit in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in the previous calendar year.
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Can Ronaldo Win His First Saudi Pro League Title This Season?
Knowing Ronaldo as one of the most ambitious players in the history of football, four Saudi Pro League Player of the Month awards in 2023 certainly would not satisfy his hunger to hunt down more team and individual successes. The Portuguese striker’s Al-Nassr had an upsetting end to their 2022/2023 Saudi Pro League Season after finishing 5 points behind the eventual winners Al-Ittihad, who are currently led by another former Ballon d’Or winner and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema.
That being said, winning a league title at the Saudi region will be a significant team honour for Ronaldo in the current season, who has won league titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus in the past. Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr are currently seven points behind Neymar’s Al-Hilal with 15 Matchdays to spare, and it would take a consistent run for the former to catch up with the current leaders of the Saudi Pro League.
Furthermore, the Riyadh-based club must also hope that Al-Hilal drop points in their following matches and themselves capitalise on the opportunity to beat their title contenders in the third final league game of the season at home, having been defeated easily by Al-Hilal with a resounding 3-0 score line last time around.
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