Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record for the Saudi Pro League as he won the Golden Boot award for the 2023/24 season.
The influx of stars to the Saudi Pro League made the race to see who would finish the campaign as the leading goalscorer an interesting one. In the end, Ronaldo was streets ahead of the rest as he broke the previous best mark for most goals in a single Saudi top-flight season.
The Al Nassr forward hit 35 goals in just 31 games to finish seven ahead of Al Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic, while nobody else managed to reach 20. The likes of Sadio Mane and Karim Benzema, who had expected to challenge Ronaldo for goalscoring supremacy, endured difficult seasons at Al Nassr and Al Ittihad respectively, while Neymar missed almost the whole season due to a serious injury.
Ronaldo's Al Nassr teammate Anderson Talisca was in the mix before injury curtailed his season, while Abderrazak Hamdallah also saw his final weeks of the campaign spoiled by a fitness issue. That meant Mitrovic was Ronaldo's sole competitor in the closing stages of 2023/24, and the Serbia international couldn't keep up.
I don’t follow the records, the records follow me. 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/rqywmmTfZD
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) May 27, 2024
The Sporting News has been following the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League campaign and tracking the top scorers, with assists serving as the first tiebreaker, and fewest minutes played the second tiebreaker, as per FIFA's major international tournaments.
MORE: Watch all of Cristiano Ronaldo's goals for Al Nassr in 2022/23
Saudi Pro League Top Scorers Table 2023/24
This is how the final standings for the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot looked for 2023/24.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | 35 (8) | 11 | 31 |
| 2. | Aleksandar Mitrovic | Al Hilal | 28 (11) | 6 | 28 |
| 3. | Fashion Sakala | Al Feiha | 19 (2) | 6 | 31 |
| 4. | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Ittihad | 19 (5) | 2 | 24 |
| 5. | Firas Al Buraikan | Al Ahli | 17 (1) | 8 | 32 |
Saudi Pro League Top Scorers table 2022/23
Al Ittihad's Morocco international forward Hamdallah scored 21 of the 60 goals that his team tallied on their run to the 2022/23 Saudi Pro League title. It was his third Golden Boot in the previous five seasons.
While Hamdallah did his damage across 26 matches, Ronaldo joined Al Nassr midseason and only played in 16 matches, but still managed to finish in 5th place with 14 goals.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Ittihad | 21 | 3 |
| 2. | Talisca | Al Nassr | 20 | 2 |
| 3. | Odion Ighalo | Al Hilal | 19 | 2 |
| 4. | Firas Al-Buraikan | Al Fateh | 17 | 4 |
| 5. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | 14 | 2 |
| 6. | Romarinho | Al Ittihad | 13 | 5 |
| Cristian Guanca | Al Shabab | 13 | 3 | |
| 8. | Carlos Junior | Al Shabab | 12 | 2 |
Saudi Pro League Golden Boot Winners
Below are the top scorers in each season of the Saudi Pro League, dating back to 2007/08, when the league was rebranded from the Saudi Premier League.
Former Saudi Arabia international Nasser Al-Shamrani was the dominant winner in the early period of the league, with five Golden Boot triumphs in seven seasons, from 2007 to 2014.
The bar was raised by Syrian star Omar Al Somah, as he won three successive Golden Boots from 2014 to 2017, before Hamdallah set a new league record of 34 goals in 2018/19.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke that record on the final day of the 2023/24 season as he scored 35 goals in 31 appearances.
| Year | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | 35 |
| 2022/23 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Ittihad | 21 |
| 2021/22 | Odion Ighalo | Al Hilal | 24 |
| 2020/21 | Bafetimbi Gomis | Al Hilal | 24 |
| 2019/20 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Nassr | 29 |
| 2018/19 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Nassr | 34 |
| 2017/18 | Ronnie Fernandez | Al Fayha | 13 |
| 2016/17 | Omar Al Somah | Al Hilal | 22 |
| 2015/16 | Omar Al Somah | Al Hilal | 27 |
| 2014/15 | Omar Al Somah | Al Hilal | 24 |
| 2013/14 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al Shabab | 21 |
| 2012/13 | Sebastian Tagliabue | Al Shabab | 19 |
| 2011/12 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al Shabab | 21 |
| Victor Simoes | Al Hilal | 21 | |
| 2010/11 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al Shabab | 17 |
| 2009/10 | Mohammad Al-Shalhoub | Al Hilal | 12 |
| 2008/09 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al Shabab | 12 |
| Hicham Aboucherouane | Al Ittihad | 12 | |
| 2007/08 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al Shabab | 18 |
