Cristiano Ronaldo delighted the Lajami twins on Saturday, February 17 as he posed for a photo with them after a Saudi Pro League match.
It was business as usual for the Portuguese superstar who was on target as Al Nassr beat Al-Fateh 2-1.
Cristiano Ronaldo with twins Ali Lajami of Al Nassr and Qasim Lajami of Al Fateh on February 17, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Yasser Bakhsh.Source: Getty Images
A few weeks ago, the two sides met in a reverse fixture, with an incident involving Sadio Mane and the twins going viral.
Mane was shocked to see to see Qasem Lajami, the twin of his teammate, Ali Lajami during the routine pre-match player handshakes, and hilariously had to take a second look at his opponent just to be sure of what he was seeing.
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Since that incident, the twins have gained attention beyond Saudi Arabia, thanks to Ali Lajami’s association with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
Who are the Lajami twins?
Unsurprisingly, the twins started out together at Al-Muhheet before moving to Al-Khaleej’s youth team as 18-year-olds, according to Arabnews.com.
They eventually progressed to the first team, with Ali making a move to AL-Nassr in 2020 while his brother transferred to Al-Fateh.
Ali’s career seems to have a better trajectory, as he was part of the select team of players that took on Paris Saint Germain on Janaury 19 2023. That was Ronaldo’s first match in Saudi soil.
Ronaldo overtakes Messi
With his goal against Al-Fateh, Ronaldo overtook his eternal rival Lionel Messi in the non-penalty goals department.
The 39-year-old now has 375 career goals, with 714 of those goals coming from open play.
This is one more than Messi, who sits on 713 career goals from open play ahead of Inter Miami’s new season.
It is difficult to determine who will emerge on top between Ronaldo and Messi in terms of goals, as both players are showing no signs of retiring anytime soon, despite being in the twilight years off their respective careers.