Cristiano Ronaldo‘s pursuit of another Golden Boot in the Saudi Pro League has gotten off to a rocky start this season. The Al Nassr captain missed the club’s opening match, as he continued easing back into full fitness following his extended break after the 2026 World Cup. That slow start has left him chasing the pack early in the scoring race, and Friday’s result did little to close the gap.
Ivan Toney has emerged as the outright leader of the Saudi Pro League scoring charts, and he added to his tally once again on Friday. The Al Ahli forward scored a brace as his side overturned an early deficit to beat Al Hazem 3-1 in Jeddah.
This has become a habit for Toney lately. Friday’s brace was his third consecutive brace, following identical two-goal outings against Al Riyadh and in the defeat to Al Qadsiah, and it added to a hat-trick he had already produced earlier in the campaign in a 4-0 win over Abha.
That level of production has carried him to the top of the scoring standings with 10 goals while several of the league’s biggest names, Ronaldo included, have struggled to keep pace.
Ronaldo, for his part, has needed time to get going. After sitting out the season opener, he scored his first goal of the campaign in the 83rd minute of a 4-0 win over Al Riyadh in Matchday 2.
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Since then, however, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has managed to find the net only three times in total, leaving him well off the pace Toney has set atop the Saudi Pro League‘s Golden Boot race.
How the Saudi Pro League scoring chart looks through Matchday 7
Toney’s brace against Al Hazem stretched his advantage at the top of the standings to a wide margin, with the Al Ahli forward now sitting on 10 goals through seven matches, six clear of the chasing pack.
George Ilenikhena, Steven Bergwijn, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Iker Kortajarena, Mateo Retegui and Youssef En-Nesyri round out the top seven, all tied on four goals apiece.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, sits in eighth place with three goals from just five appearances, a tally that leaves him firmly on the outside of the race Toney currently dominates.
