While Cristiano Ronaldo has been making headlines for his strong protest against the Public Investment Fund (PIF) following Karim Benzema’s transfer to Al Hilal, one of his rivals has taken advantage of his absence to surpass him in one of the Portuguese player’s own records.
After the 1-1 draw between Al-Fateh and Al-Qadisiyah in a Saudi Arabian First Division match on Saturday, it was announced that Julián Quiñoneshad surpassed the Al Nassr captain’s goal tally.
Quiñones leaves CR7 behind in the scoring charts
On matchday 21, Matías Vargas scored the first goal of the game to give Al Fateh the lead in the 7th minute, but Al-Qadisiyah quickly managed to equalize with a precise goal from the Colombian-born Mexican, Julián Quiñones.
This goal not only allowed the team to avoid what could have been a painful defeat, but it was also Julián’s 18th goal in 20 games in the 2025-2026 season, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s 17 goals with Al Nassr. Despite this, the current top scorer in the Arab league is Ivan Toney of Al-Ahli with 19 goals.
Quiñones is now competing head-to-head with CR7 to be the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League, but of course, he will also have to beat Toney first.
Despite this, if Cristiano continues to be absent from his team’s matches as he was against Al Riyadh and Al Ittihad, he could fall behind in the scoring charts. In addition, the Portuguese player would also delay his quest to reach 1,000 goals, a unique milestone in soccer history that the 41-year-old star wants to achieve. Ronaldo scored his most recent goal, the 961st of his career, at the end of January 2026 in a match with Al Nassr against Al Kholood in the Saudi Pro League.
However, everything indicates that Cristiano’s anger and dissatisfaction with the transfer policy of the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Wealth Fund (owner of Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli, and Al Ittihad) remains, as he believes it harms his own club while benefiting others.
The Portuguese star’s discontent reached its peak with the last-minute arrival of Karim Benzema at Al-Hilal, CR7’s team’s main rival in the title race.
Meanwhile, it has not been decided whether the Portuguese player will be sanctioned for his absence from the club’s last two matches, as this was not due to injury or a technical decision, but rather a personal protest.
Despite this, his immediate future is uncertain and his presence in the key clash against FK Arkadag on Wednesday, February 11, or against Al Fateh on Saturday, February 14, remains up in the air.
Read the full article here
