The former Real Madrid star, who won four Champions League titles while at Los Blancos, holds many European records. One of them was the top scorer in the knockout round of a European tournament, when he scored 10 goals in the 2016/2017 season.
It’s a record that CR7 holds alongside Karim Benzema, who reached that milestone en route to Real Madrid’s Champions League title in 2022, and Radamel Falcao, who had a prolific year with Porto as they won the Europa League in 2011.
However, now all three have been usurped by Ayoub El Kaabi. The Moroccan striker scored the winning goal in the 116th minute, helping Olympiakos beat Fiorentina and win their first European Cup. With the goal in the final, Ayoub El Kaabi scored his 11th goal in the knockout round.
The Moroccan international had an excellent tournament personally. He scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa in the semi-final first leg and then scored a double in the second leg at Villa Park. It’s worth noting that the Europa Conference League includes an additional knockout round compared to the Champions League – meaning El Kaabi plays nine matches while Ronaldo only has seven.
Ronaldo, although spending time on his career in Europe, has the most appearances at the UEFA club level with 197 times and scores the most goals in the Champions League with 140 goals. The Portuguese star continues to make an impact but has no plans to return to Europe.
Previously, he had said: “I am 100% sure that I will not return to any European club. I am 38 years old. European football has lost a lot of quality. The only thing that is valid and Still doing well is the Premier League. They are ahead of all other leagues.”
Ronaldo scored twice in the recent Saudi Pro League clash with Al-Ittihad, giving the veteran striker his 34th and 35th goals of the season. That means Ronaldo now holds the record for the highest number of goals in a campaign in the Saudi Pro League.
But despite winning many individual titles, Ronaldo’s prolific scoring form still cannot save Al-Nassr’s hopes of winning the tournament. They were defeated by Al-Hilal.
