Cristiano Ronaldo is already facing an uphill battle in the search for a third Saudi Pro League Golden Boot, with the Al Nassr captain only opening his scoring account for the season well behind the division’s early pace-setters.
Ronaldo was absent for Al Nassr‘s first two matches of the 2026-27 campaign, having missed preseason training entirely due to an extended break away from the squad. That absence pushed back his season debut and left Ange Postecoglou managing his return carefully rather than throwing him straight into the starting lineup.
The Portuguese forward finally got on the pitch during Al Nassr’s 4-0 win over Al Riyadh, coming on in the 62nd minute and playing only the final half hour of the match. It took him just 21 minutes to make an impact, latching onto a low cross from Ayman Yahya to scoring his 977th career goal, his first Saudi Pro League strike of the season.
Even with that goal, Ronaldo remains well off the pace in the Golden Boot standings. Moussa Dembele and Ivan Toney currently lead the race with three goals apiece, while Ronaldo sits on just one after playing a fraction of the minutes available to him so far.
The 41-year-old finished third in the Golden Boot race last season, with Julian Quinones claiming the title, and this slow start, driven largely by his delayed pre-season, makes an early return to the top of the standings look unlikely for now.
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Golden Boot standings after Saudi Pro League Matchday 2
Ronaldo’s tally still doesn’t reflect his goal against Al Riyadh in the latest available data, meaning he remains outside the top of the standings for now, but here is how the race looks:
- Moussa Dembele (Al-Ettifaq) — 3 goals
- Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli) — 3 goals
- Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal) — 2 goals
- Alexandre Lacazette (Neom SC) — 2 goals
- Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Taawoun) — 2 goals
- Angelo (Al-Nassr) — 2 goals
- Joao Felix (Al-Nassr) — 2 goals
- Karim Benzema (Al-Hilal) — 1 goal
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr) — 1 goal
Al Nassr’s next test comes on the road against Al Ettifaq
Al Nassr will look to build on their 4-0 win over Al Riyadh when they travel to face Al Ettifaq on Tuesday. Ronaldo is expected to get his first start of the season in that match, a significant step up in workload after his 28-minute cameo. How Postecoglou manages his minutes will be closely watched, with the captain still building up to a full 90 as Al Nassr look to keep pace at the top of the table.
