The Final Stretch: Can anyone wrest Golden Boot from Ronaldo? | OneFootball

The Roshn Saudi League is fortunate enough to feature some of the finest strikers in world football, thus attaching plenty of significance to the competition’s golden boot.

The prize goes to the player who top scores in the RSL each season. Last term, Cristiano Ronaldo captured the honour and in record-breaking style, too, when he set a new high mark for goals in a single campaign.

It might not come as a surprise, then, that the Al Nassr superstar doesn’t appear ready to relinquish his individual crown anytime soon: with eight rounds remaining, and following his Capital Derby heroics, Ronaldo tops the 2024-25 scoring charts.

Here's how the battle to be the season’s main marksman is shaping up.

Cristiano Ronaldo – 21 goals (25 games)

It’s hard to put into words – or fathom – how much the Al Nassr captain continues to excel. Remember, Ronaldo celebrated his 40th birthday in February, but in true fashion, marked the milestone occasion with a goal. The swept finish against Al Fayha was his ninth goal in as many RSL matches.

Currently, Ronaldo rides a five-in-five streak, with Friday’s double at Al Hilal taking him inside the top 10 on the RSL’s all-time goal list. As Ronaldo’s prolificacy persists, Al Nassr can still dream of landing the RSL title – he could be the difference between success of narrowly missing out.

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Abderrazak Hamdallah – 18 (21 games)

While he trails Ronaldo this season, the Al Shabab frontman has eyes on that all-time record. Hamdallah, a three-time golden boot winner, has been brilliant in his debut campaign back in the capital, with his opener at Al Wehda on Sunday lifting him to within three goals of Omar Al Somah in the history books.

Now with 147 RSL career goals, Hamdallah has five in his past three league outings. Indeed, his hat-trick against Al Somah’s Al Orobah just before last month’s international break represented his second treble of the campaign.

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Karim Benzema – 17 (23 games)

Al Ittihad’s captain has led from the front this season in almost every way. After a disappointing debut campaign last term in which he scored nine goals, Benzema returned in the summer and vowed his team would “do the fans proud”.

He has been central to their place at the top of the table, netting numerous last-gaps goals, including in Saturday’s thrilling 2-2 draw in the Sea Derby against Al Ahli. The Ballon d’Or winner might just be getting his hands on two RSL trophies come season end.

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Marcos Leonardo – 17 (22 games)

One of the RSL’s most exciting young additions in the summer window, the Al Hilal forward has been a revelation on debut. Leonardo, 21, began life at the champions principally as a winger, but injury to Aleksandar Mitrovic saw him remodelled to lead the line for Jorge Jesus’ side.

In 11 RSL matches since early December, Leonardo struck an incredible 14 times, including a hat-trick in the 9-0 win against Al Fateh. Undeniably, without the Brazilian, Al Hilal wouldn’t be in the mix to retain the top-flight trophy.

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Ivan Toney – 17 (23 games)

Another star enjoying a late-season burst, the summer window recruit from the English Premier League has overcome a slow start to fire Al Ahli’s top-four bid.

In seven RSL appearances between Matchweek 17 and 23, Toney scored a remarkable 12 goals, the highlight the hat-trick that sealed a superb victory at Al Hilal. Toney later described its extra-special meaning.

The former Brentford frontman took his season tally to 17 last time out, like Benzema, netting in the Sea Derby classic on Saturday.

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Julian Quinones – 15 (23 games)

Not to be outdone as far as first seasons in the RSL goal, the Mexico international has been pivotal to Al Qadsiah’s excellent campaign back in the top flight.

Quinones, a summer acquisition from Club America in his homeland, served notice to the league with a brace in the opening matchweek, and hasn’t looked back. His purple patch took place from the beginning of December through to the end of February, when Quinones found the net 10 times.

With him, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang alongside him, Al Qadsiah are eying a top-three finish.

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Aleksandar Mitrovic – 13 (15 games)

How far back is too far back? Unquestionably, the Al Hilal hitman’s quest for the golden boot was hindered by an injury that kept him on the sidelines for most of three months – meaning he missed 10 RSL matches.

He did, though, notch on his long-awaited comeback, in last month’s win at Al Fayha. It’s worth remembering Mitrovic, who struck 28 goals in 28 games last season to finish runner-up to Ronaldo, led the 2024-25 scoring charts before injury.

If Mitrovic reels in his Al Nassr rival, then Al Hilal will most probably have retained the RSL crown, too.