Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses 500 career league goals; slams 61st hat-trick
Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, who beat Al Wehda 4-0 in the Saudi Pro League. By scoring four goals, Ronaldo has now surpassed the 500-goal mark in career league football. He has raced to 503 goals for five different clubs in five different leagues. Ronaldo also scored the 61st hat-trick of his career. Here's more.
Why does this story matter?
Ronaldo left Manchester United after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan and after finding no takers in Europe, he joined Al Nassr on a reported salary of £177m per year. Ronaldo started shyly, scoring one goal from the penalty spot in his first three competitive appearances for the club. However, he showed his magic by netting four goals versus Al Wehda.
Ronaldo scores four goals
Ronaldo started his goal-scoring spree with a left-footed strike in the 21st minute. This took him to a tally of 500 career league goals. He added a second five minutes from half-time. The 38-year-old scored a penalty and then off a rebound after drawing a save to end the match with four goals. Ronaldo took his goals tally to five in the league.
Breakdown of Ronaldo's 503 career league goals
Ronaldo scored three goals for Sporting in the Primeira League in 25 appearances. His two spells for Manchester United saw him net 103 Premier League goals, including 19 in the second stint. He netted 311 La Liga goals for Real Madrid in 292 appearances. He scored another 81 goals in 98 Serie A appearances for Juventus. And now, he has five for Al Nassr.
Ronaldo has 61 career hat-tricks
Ronaldo has raced to 61 career hat-tricks in senior professional football for club and country. He has 51 club career hat-tricks and a further 10 for Portugal. This was also the ninth time Ronaldo hit four goals in one match.
706 career club goals and 118 for Portugal
Ronaldo has raced to 706 career club goals in total. He netted five goals for Sporting, 145 for Manchester United, 450 for Real Madrid, and 101 for Juventus, besides another five for Al Nassr. Ronaldo, who is the top scorer in men's international football, has managed 118 goals for Portugal in 196 appearances.
