We can’t get over the batsh*t Saudi Pro League top scorers chart: Ronaldo, Mitrovic… | OneFootball

The Saudi Pro League made some huge investments over the summer and we just can’t get over the crazy top scorers chart which features former Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona stars.

Saudi Arabian clubs spent over £700million in the summer and they’ve handed out some ridiculously lucrative contracts in the process to tempt the best stars in Europe to join their project.

We’ve taken a closer look into the current top 10 scorers in the Saudi Pro League and we can’t get over some of the names that make it in.

Note: If two players are tied on goals, we’ve put them in order of who has the better goals-per-minute ratio.

10. Mourad Batna – 5 goals

The Moroccan winger enjoyed a stint in the United Arab Emirates before moving to Saudi Arabia in 2020. Batna is now closing in on 100 appearances for Al Fateh and has started the new campaign well with five goals.

He’s got all the skills and trickery you would expect from a Moroccan winger and his goal collection from this season isn’t too shabby either.

9. Firas Al-Buraikan – 5 goals

The 23-year-old has spent his entire career playing in the Saudi Pro League and has enjoyed stints with Al-Nassr and Al-Fateh. He made the jump to Al-Ahli this summer and has already been in the goals for his new club.

Now playing alongside the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin and Roberto Firmino, Al-Buraikan is surrounded by superstars who can supply him with chances.

8. Aleksandar Mitrovic – 5 goals

Fulham received a club-record transfer fee this summer as Mitrovic forced a move to Al Hilal. Fresh off the back of a prolific Premier League campaign, it’s no wonder he’s making light work of the Saudi Pro League.

The former Fulham man joined the likes of Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly at Al Hilal and he’s even rubbing shoulders with Neymar these days. He’ll no doubt be earning a king’s ransom too.

7. Abderrazak Hamdallah – 5 goals

Hamdallah has been a prolific scorer in the Saudi Pro League way before the huge levels of investment came into the league. With 115 league goals to his name, he is the third-highest scorer in the league’s history.

He’s even managed to take some of the spotlight away from his fellow Al-Ittihad teammate Karim Benzema as the Moroccan forward has enjoyed a more prolific start to the new campaign.

6. Odion Ighalo – 5 goals

The former Red Devils and Watford striker jetted off to Saudi Arabia before it was deemed cool. To be fair to the 34-year-old, he’s been brutally honest on why he chose to join the league in 2021.

“When you are young, yes, you play for passion. Back then, you don’t care about money. But at my age, I am in the final stretch of my career, I don’t know if it will be one, two years or when God will tell it to stop,” he told OmaSportsTV.

“I know it won’t be more than three years. I’ve played for passion all my life, now it’s for money. I’m not one of those players who come and say: ‘I play for passion’. Brother, it’s money. At the end of the day, it’s money.”

5. Salem Al-Dawsari – 6 goals

Arguably one of the finest players that Saudi Arabia have ever produced, Al-Dawsari has enjoyed another prolific start to the new campaign. He’s currently Al Hilal’s designated penalty taker too, but we’ll see how long that lasts for with Neymar now around.

4. Sadio Mane – 6 goals

It’s no secret that Mane struggled to find his groove with Bayern Munich, but the 31-year-old hasn’t wasted any time in settling into his new surroundings at Al-Nassr.

Plenty of former Liverpool stars now find themselves in the Saudi Pro League and Mane revealed that Firmino and Fabinho played a large role in him joining the league.

“I think first of all I spoke with Firmino for sure,” Mane told The National. “I think he wanted me to come to the wrong club – I’m joking! He always called two or three times to convince me to come to Al Ahli.

“At the same time I spoke with Fabinho because he was quite close to me and he also wanted me to come to Al Ittihad, but in this time when Al Nassr came, I chose Al Nassr.”

3. Malcom – 6 goals

Remember Malcom? The Brazilian winger only spent one year with Barcelona before he jumped ship in 2019 to join Zenit Saint Petersburg in a deal worth around £39million.

He made the leap over the the Saudi Pro League this summer and has already been lighting things up. We’re already starting to see the development of a new Brazilian bromance with him and Neymar.

2. Moussa Dembele – 6 goals

The former Fulham, Celtic and Lyon forward hasn’t wasted any time in impacting things at his new club. Now turning out for Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq, the Frenchman has been as prolific as ever in the opening months of the season.

Al-Ettifaq have started the new campaign well as they currently sit fourth in the table and are just two points off the top. Dembele will no doubt have a huge role to play in the season to come.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 9 goals

Who else? There’s a reason he’s the highest-paid player in the league and he continues to deliver into his late thirties. We dread to think what sort of ludicrous goalscoring bonus he will no doubt have in his contract too.

After narrowly missing out on the league title last time around, Ronaldo will have his sights firmly set on glory with Al-Nassr this season. You can tell he’s stuck up a real bond with his new club already.