Cristiano Ronaldo is on the verge of matching his Manchester United goal total at Al Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo’s career has been defined by milestones, and one more is within reach at Al Nassr. The Portuguese star is closing in on a number that would link two very different chapters of his career: the goals he scored in the Premier League era at Manchester United and his production in Saudi Arabia.

With his latest strike against Al Faisaly, which the Saudi Pro League credited to him in Al Nassr’s 3-1 win, Ronaldo reached 135 goals for Al Nassr in all competitions. At Manchester United, he scored 145 across his two spells, 118 in the first and 27 in the second, leaving him 10 goals shy of matching that tally.

The count comes with a caveat, as several data providers recorded the goal against Al Faisaly as an own goal by defender Andrei Girotto. However, the Saudi Pro League credited the strike to the Portuguese star, which takes his official career tally to 982 goals.

Most of his goals for Al Nassr have come in the Saudi Pro League, where he has scored 107, and he has also found the net in the AFC Champions League, the Arab Club Champions Cup and domestic cups.

Ronaldo’s scoring rate has doubled since leaving Manchester United

The comparison shows how Ronaldo’s scoring rate has changed. Over two spells at Manchester United, he scored 145 goals in 346 appearances, an average of 0.42 goals per game.

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At Al Nassr, entering the match against Al Faisaly, he had 134 goals in 159 appearances, roughly double the rate at 0.84 goals per game, while scoring one every 103 minutes compared with one every 183 at United.

Ronaldo has also scored more often from the penalty spot in Saudi Arabia, with 32 of his goals coming from penalties compared with 21 at United, and he has scored 17 headers for Al Nassr compared with 24 for the English club.