All of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr hat-tricks
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most prolific players in the history of football so it should be no surprise that only the late Brazilian icon Pele scored more career hat-tricks than Al Nassr’s captain.
Pele’s record benchmark of 92 trebles is insurmountable for Ronaldo, who is currently on 65 but playing out the final years of his illustrious career in Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo is, however, set to finish on more career hat-tricks than long-time rival Lionel Messi, with the Argentine maestro having 57 to his name.
Particularly impressively, Ronaldo has now scored multiple hat-tricks in 12 straight calendar years, while it is also worth noting that he has also bagged six two-goal hauls since moving to Al Nassr, with five of them coming this season. Despite being 39 years old, Ronaldo appears to be showing no signs of slowing down.
Here Al Arabiya English looks back on all of Ronaldo’s hat-tricks for Al Nassr.
Al Nassr 4-0 Al Wehda – February 9, 2023
It was in only the third match of Ronaldo’s Al Nassr career that he netted his first hat-trick for the club, the ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid forward actually scoring all four goals in his side’s 4-0 humbling of Al Wehda. Ronaldo’s first goal came after he timed his run beyond Al Wehda’s offside line perfectly, latching on to Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s pass before slotting a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Abdulquddus Atiah.
His second saw him again race clear, this time reaching Sami Al-Najel’s excellent through-ball and striking the ball right-footed under Atiah’s legs. Ronaldo completed his hat-trick in the second half with a penalty, placed into the bottom left-hand corner, and debuted a new celebration to mark the occasion – clutching his hands to his chest and closing his eyes. The Al Nassr skipper’s fourth and final goal was a rebound, slotted home after Atiah saved his initial effort, with Ronaldo immediately returning to his trademark ‘Siuuu’ celebration.
Al Nassr 3-0 al Damac – February 25, 2023
Just two games after scoring his maiden hat-trick for Al Nassr, Ronaldo was at it again away to Damac – his second treble in as many weeks taking him to eight goals in his first five matches for the club. The Portuguese superstar opened the scoring from the penalty spot, smashing a right-foot shot into the left side-netting after Damac had been penalized for a handball in the box.
Four minutes later, Ronaldo collected Sultan Al-Ghannam’s pass 30 yards from goal, advanced toward the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a low left-foot strike past Damac’s helpless Algerian goalkeeper Moustapha Zeghba. Al Nassr’s No. 7 completed his hat-trick just before the interval after a rapid team counterattack saw Ayman Yahya square the ball for Ronaldo to sweep home. It had taken just 25 first-half minutes for Ronaldo to claim the match-ball, with Al Nassr able to preserve the 3-0 lead until the end.
Al Nassr 5-0 Al Fateh – August 25, 2023
Ronaldo’s first ever goal for Al Nassr came in a 2-2 draw against Al Fateh but on this occasion, the ex-Juventus forward and his teammates were in considerably more ruthless form. After failing to score in a surprise home defeat to Al Taawoun on the opening day of the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League season, Ronaldo was determined to make amends and he began by providing the assist for Sadio Mane’s opening goal.
Ronaldo then scored his first of the game to double Al Nassr’s lead, rising high to head home Al-Ghannam’s right-wing cross. His second, after the half-time break, was a little more straightforward as Saudi international Ghareeb befuddled goalkeeper Jacob Rinne before laying the ball across for Ronaldo to slot into an empty goal. The Al Nassr captain set up another for Mane before grabbing his third in stoppage time, a left-foot tap-in completing his first perfect hat-trick (header, right foot and left foot) for the club.
Al Nassr 5-1 Al Tai – March 30, 2024
Ronaldo’s fourth hat-trick for Al Nassr was particularly special as it was his first in front of his own fans at Al-Awwal Stadium in Riyadh. Ronaldo had unusually failed to add to his 128 goals for the Portugal national team during the March international break, but he returned to club duty with a bang to inspire his side to an impressive 5-1 win. Goals from Otavio and Abdulrahman Ghareeb had handed Al Nassr a narrow 2-1 half-time lead, before Ronaldo stole the show after the interval.
It was a virtuoso display of finishing from the home team’s captain that began with a sweeping right-foot strike past goalkeeper Muataz Al Bagawi, from Sadio Mane’s smart cross. Less than three minutes later Ronaldo added a second, reacting first after Al Tai’s defence suffered a lapse in concentration to slam the ball home from close range. The second-half masterclass was finished with the sort of towering header for which Ronaldo has become synonymous through the years.
Al Nassr 8-0 Abha – April 2, 2024
Less than 72 hours after netting his fourth Al Nassr hat-trick, Ronaldo added a superb fifth against Abha, decimating the struggling team’s defense with a devastating first-half performance that saw him grab a treble and a pair of assists in an 8-0 away hammering. Ronaldo got his side off the mark with a low free-kick that goalkeeper Ciprian Tătăruşanu probably should have saved. Instead, the ball squirmed in off the Romanian’s boot.
There was nothing he could do about Ronaldo’s second of the night, however, which also came from a free-kick. This time, the set-piece specialist delivered an expert strike that dipped perfectly over the wall and nestled in the bottom left-corner of the net. Ronaldo then contributed two assists for Mane that sandwiched a magnificent hat-trick goal – Al Nassr’s No. 7 springing the Abha offside trap before producing a delicious first-time chip to beat onrushing keeper Tătăruşanu. It was 5-0 before half-time and though Ronaldo was subbed off early for a much-deserved rest, Al Nassr added another three in the second half.