Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday to reach the career milestone of 500 club goals.

The Portugal international, who celebrated his 38th birthday on Sunday, was unstoppable against hosts Al Wehda, netting four times in 30 minutes to lead his team to a 4-0 win.

It was incredibly easy for him on Thursday against Al-Wehda. He opened the scoring with a run in the left channel and a deadly left-footed finish across the goalkeeper. He made it 2-0 with a simple run in behind and a finish from the keeper’s legs.

His hat-trick — the 61st of his career — came courtesy of a penalty conceded by an inexplicable handball. And his fourth was somehow even easier, the goalkeeper pushing his initial effort straight back to him for a simple rebound.

Ronaldo has scored 503 league goals for five clubs in five different top-flight leagues. He bagged 103 for Manchester United, 311 for Real Madrid, 81 for Juventus, three for Sporting Lisbon, and now has five for Al Nassr.

Ronaldo took to Instagram and said he felt great after his exploits and reaching the landmark. “Great feeling to have scored four goals and reaching my 500th league goal in a very solid win by the team!”

The five-time Ballon D’Or winner signed a two-and-halfyear deal with Al Nassr in December after falling out with Manchester United, reported to be worth over $216.54 million, and was appointed captain of the team. Al Nassr top the standings after 16 games, level on 37 points with second-placed Al Shabab.

Praise from Pirlo

Chelsea’s Joao Felix was asked about Ronaldo’s move to Saudi. “There was nothing left for him to win in Europe. He’s written his name into the history books and now he’s going to write his name into the history books in Saudi,” Ronaldo’s Portugal teammate said.

Andrea Pirlo also heaped praise on the Portuguese icon. Pirlo, who managed Ronaldo in Juventus between August 2020 and May 2021, said the latter’s relentless pursuit for perfection is something youngsters should try to emulate and was surprised by what happened between the superstar and United.

“For me, it was easy to work with him. Maybe he had a problem with another team, but for me, it was a good experience,” the former Italy footballer told The Daily Mail.

Ronaldo was sacked by United after giving an interview in which he lamented the way he had been treated by the club. “I think Ronaldo had been waiting for a long time to give that interview. He’d prepared everything beforehand,” Pirlo had earlier told an Italian sports website.

Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard also has all the good things to say about his former Real Madrid teammate. Odegaard had moved to the Spanish capital at 16 from Norway. “He took extra care of me,” Odegaard said.

Written with inputs from Reuters