The 41-year-old converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post 15 minutes from time to score his 100th Saudi Pro League goal — the 971st of his career and his 26th in the current campaign. Al-Nassr head coach Jorge Jesus, the veteran Portuguese manager, acknowledged the occasion after the match.
"Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today."
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July 2025, scored a hat-trick for the league leaders. Al-Nassr moved to 82 points from 32 games, five clear of rivals Al-Hilal, who have three games remaining, one more than Nassr. Tuesday's Riyadh derby between the two clubs is likely to decide the title.
The significance of Ronaldo's century goes beyond the Saudi league. He previously scored 311 La Liga goals for Real Madrid and 103 Premier League goals for Manchester United. His 81 Serie A goals for Juventus narrowly missed a fourth century across four competitions. The feat leaves Ronaldo alone in football history — Lionel Messi, who has scored 474 La Liga goals for Barcelona and 58 MLS goals for Inter Miami, has yet to reach 100 in a second league, let alone a third.
Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus added context to Ronaldo's position at the club and the broader impact of the result.
"Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter."
Ronaldo has yet to win major silverware in Saudi Arabia since joining Al-Nassr in December 2022, despite breaking the Saudi Pro League single-season scoring record with 35 goals in 2023/24. Al-Nassr are also in the AFC Champions League 2 final against Japan's Gamba Osaka on May 16.
The World Cup begins in the United States on June 11. Ronaldo's 41st birthday falls on February 5. He is the oldest outfield player in the tournament. The records keep coming — and the biggest stage of all is less than five weeks away.