Cristiano Ronaldo scored three times in fifteen second-half minutes on Thursday night as Al-Nassr beat Al-Kholood 5-3 in a chaotic Saudi Pro League match at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, taking his career tally to 985 goals and leaving him just fifteen short of the 1,000-goal milestone no player has ever reached in official senior football.
The 41-year-old had endured a frustrating first half, twice finding the net only to see both efforts ruled out for offside, one of them after a VAR check. When the game restarted locked at 2-2, though, it became his night. According to USA TODAY, Ronaldo struck in the 66th, 72nd and 81st minutes to seal the victory, completing his 67th career hat-trick.
A frantic first half in Riyadh
Al-Kholood, to their credit, refused to simply play the supporting role in somebody else's milestone story. Julien Domingues gave the visitors a shock lead in the 16th minute, and although Angelo Gabriel levelled for Al-Nassr in the 24th and Sadio Mane put the hosts ahead in the 38th, the lead did not survive the half. Antoin Essomba equalised in first-half stoppage time, and Al-Nassr went in at the break level, wasteful and slightly rattled, with their captain's two disallowed goals summing up an evening that threatened to run away from them.
Fifteen minutes of Ronaldo
The second half belonged entirely to two Portuguese team-mates. Joao Felix, who finished the night with an extraordinary four assists, set up Ronaldo's opener in the 66th minute and then supplied the cross for his header six minutes later. Mane then squared the ball for Ronaldo to tap in his third in the 81st minute, completing a hat-trick assembled from a tap-in, a classic header and a close-range finish. Domingues pulled one back from the penalty spot in the fourth minute of stoppage time, his second of the game, but it was only a footnote.
As QNC News reported, the treble was Ronaldo's first hat-trick of the season and his first for Al-Nassr in two and a half years, the previous one coming against Al-Wehda in May 2024. Most counts now put him on 985 career goals, although some statistical services list 984 because of a disputed goal earlier in the chase. Ronaldo's own verdict on social media was simple: "Great win, great team performance. Happy to help with a hat-trick!" The night came a day after a France Football fan vote named his 2008 campaign the greatest Ballon d'Or season of all time, a story we covered in Ronaldo's B.O.A.T. victory over Messi.
So what happens next
The result lifts Al-Nassr to 28 points, level with Al-Qadsiah at the top of the Saudi Pro League with a game in hand, and a point clear of Al-Hilal after twelve rounds. The title race, in other words, is tightening around Ronaldo rather than passing him by. And the personal countdown now has a date-shaped feel to it: at his current scoring rate, fifteen more goals is a matter of weeks and months, not seasons. Every Al-Nassr match from here on carries the same subplot, and every defence in Saudi Arabia knows exactly what is coming and still has to try to stop it.
Beyond the Final Whistle: say what you like about the league he is doing it in, but no footballer in history has ever stood fifteen goals away from a thousand, and Ronaldo has turned a number most players would treat as a fantasy into a fixture list. The goals against Al-Kholood were not decoration either — they won a game his team were drawing with twenty-five minutes left and kept Al-Nassr level at the summit. At 41, he is no longer just chasing history; history is having to keep up with him.
Will Ronaldo reach 1,000 career goals this season — and does the milestone settle the greatest-scorer debate for good? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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