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Back in 2016, Real Madrid-linked coach Xabi Alonso opened up about how Cristiano Ronaldo scored so many goals on the pitch. The legendary Portuguese striker has racked up over 900 career goals so far, and could be the first player to hit the 1000-goal mark.
Alonso and Ronaldo played together at Real Madrid, giving the Bayer Leverkusen manager further insight into the latter's goalscoring ability. In an interview with Onda Cero in 2016, Alonso admired Ronaldo's adaptability, explaining (via SPORTbible):
“Cristiano has adapted on the pitch. He’s not a central striker, [but] he wants to play closer to the area. He intuitively knows where the ball will go – a lot of goals are scored with his first touch.
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“I think he’s done very well, having taken this step and getting closer to the area. As long as he’s getting 50 goals, I wish we had someone like him here. Cristiano’s numbers are amazing, indisputable.”
Fast-forward to the current era, and Cristiano Ronaldo still displays his goal-scoring ability with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Since January 2023, when he moved to the Gulf country, Ronaldo has netted 97 goals in 109 matches across all competitions.
In the 2023-24 campaign alone, Ronaldo set a fresh league record by netting 35 goals, breaking the previous mark shared by Abderrazak Hamdallah. This made him the first player to succeed as the leading scorer in four leagues: the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and the Saudi Pro League.
Why Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo's massive move from Real Madrid to Juventus in 2018 was motivated by no longer feeling "indispensable" at the Santiago Bernabeu. The transfer brought an end to a record-breaking nine-year Spain spell.
It capped a period that featured the Portuguese forward securing four Champions League titles and setting a record as the club's sole all-time leading scorer with 450 goals. Although stating in 2017 that he would retire to Madrid, Ronaldo changed his mind the next year.
Speaking with France Football in 2018, he revealed that his worth to the club had decreased, at least in Real Madrid president Florentino Perez's view (via GOAL):
"I felt within the club, especially from the president, that I was no longer considered in the same way as I was at the beginning. For the first four or five years, I felt like Cristiano Ronaldo. Less so after.
"The president looked at me in a way that suggested I was no longer indispensable if you know what I mean. That is what made me think about leaving."
Cristiano Ronaldo has since left Juventus, returning to Manchester United for a short spell, before leaving Europe for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
