Cristiano Ronaldo helped his Saudi League team Al-Nassr defeat Al-Riyadh 4-1 on Friday, marking his 1,200th professional game with a goal and an assist.
The Saudi League said on the X platform, “Cristiano Ronaldo has now played in 1,200 professional matches,” as the former Real Madrid player drew even with Peter Shilton, the top male player with the most official appearances.
Soon after the half-hour mark, Sadio Mane, who had had a goal disallowed in the opening minute of the match, tapped in a cross from Ronaldo, 38, to open the scoring.
With 16 goals in 16 games this season, the Portuguese player cemented his position as the league’s top scorer and enabled his team to recover from last Friday’s 3-0 loss to league leaders Al-Hilal.
“Leave me three points!” Ronaldo shared something on Twitter. “I’m grateful to my entire squad for making it to my 1,200th match. We’re not quite through with this ride yet.
Three minutes into injury time in the first half, Ronaldo set up his compatriot Otavio’s header.
Brazilian Talisca of Al-Nassr scored twice in the second half, with Andre Gray of Al-Riyadh scoring a consolation goal in between.