The world of football is set to face off in the pinnacle of the game, with two Ballon d'Or greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema who have shone together at Real Madrid in the Saudi Arabian league. The highlight match will take place at 2 a.m. Beijing time on December 27 at Jeddah United's home stadium against Riyadh Victory, marking the first head-to-head meeting between the two former Real Madrid twins.
At the beginning of 2023, there was a stir in the football world, as Ronaldo chose to leave European football and step into the Saudi league. The decision attracted a number of stars from the top five leagues, including Karim Benzema, who ended his 14-year career at Real Madrid. He accepted a high-salary offer from Saudi club Jeddah United to be part of the league.
So far this season, Benzema has been outstanding in all competitions, contributing 15 goals and five assists to the team. The league performance has been even more impressive, with nine goals and four assists in 14 games. However, despite Benzema's individual performance, Jeddah United, as the defending champions, did not look satisfactory in terms of league results, with only 28 points from 17 games, 22 points behind leaders Riyadh Crescent with one game in hand, and withdrew from the title race early.
This match will see the pinnacle duel between Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the clash between the two stars has aroused the keen attention of fans around the world. One of the most interesting topics for fans is whether Cristiano Ronaldo will be able to score enough goals in the game to challenge for the title of top scorer in 2023.
Statistics show that as of 2023, Ronaldo's goals have reached 51, surpassing Haaland and ranking second in the world football scorer list. The difference of only one goal makes him only one step away from the top-ranked Mbappe and Kane. And since Mbappe and Kane have finished all the games this year, Ronaldo is expected to complete the counterattack in the remaining games and enjoy the glory of the annual goalscorer king.
It is worth noting that although Haaland also has six games remaining, the Manchester City striker's playing time has become unknown due to the recent back-to-back injury absences. This also provides Ronaldo with a great opportunity to win the 2023 top scorer of the year, and only needs to score two more goals.
As the all-time leading scorer in football, Ronaldo has won the title of Goalscorer of the Year five times in his career, namely in 2007 (34 goals (60 goals (69 goals (61 goals (57 goals). This time, the 38-year-old Ronaldo is expected to win the award again in eight years, adding another luster to his illustrious career.
The Saudi league is more than halfway through the season, and Riyadh Crescent has a 10-point lead in one more round and is firmly at the top of the table. Defending champions Jeddah Nationals have a poor record with just 28 points, but that didn't stop them from beating Yadh Juniors in the 1-4 finals of the King of the Sand Cup to reach the semi-finals. In this game, Cristiano Ronaldo started the game and scored a goal, which not only helped the team advance, but also scored his 50th goal of the year, tying Haaland for the top scorer list.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, this is the eighth time that a career goal has exceeded the 50-goal mark, following the previous seven in 2011 with 60, 2012 with 63, 2013 with 69, 2014 with 61, 2015 with 57, 2016 with 55 and 2017 with 53. Although he always lost to Messi, Ronaldo still maintained his dominance in the scoring charts.
Meanwhile, Roberto Firmino, another former Real Madrid star, has also attracted attention in the Saudi league. The fastest player to score a hat-trick on his debut in Saudi Arabian league history, but Roberto Firmino has been in a lengthy goal drought since 24 August, failing to score in 13 games in 77 days. Despite the recent poor results, it is still one of the main focuses of the fans.
Finally, Ronaldo's decision to join the Saudi league has attracted widespread attention. One of the key reasons why he chose the Saudi league over the MLS was the salary. Ramos' annual salary of 8 million euros is more than 10 million euros, and most of the teams in Europe interested in Ramos cannot afford this huge salary. The choice of the Saudi league this time became his decision to continue to maintain a high salary.
On the whole, the pinnacle duel between Ronaldo and Benzema is not only a contest of skills, but also a battle of goalscorers. Fans are looking forward to an exciting match to witness two world-class stars and write a new chapter in football history. Regardless of the outcome, this match is destined to become a classic battle in the history of football, inspiring endless enthusiasm among fans.