After seven match days in the Saudi Pro League, things are beginning to shape up with the men separated from the boys.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in December 2022 has opened the floodgates for other stars to troop into the country.
The league has developed an appeal, with more fans looking to watch the matches of the Saudi Pro League.
With the influx of these stars, who are the 2023/24 top scorers in the Saudi Pro League?
Saudi Pro League top scorers
Odion Ighalo (Al Wehda – 5)
Al Wehda lies seventh in the Saudi Pro League, but it took Odion Ighalo three match days to get his first goal.
The goal came on match day three in a 3-0 away win over Al Tal.
The Nigerian forward was also on target in a 4-2 win over Damac FC and a 4-0 win over Abha. He scored a hat trick against Damac FC.
Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al Ittihad – 5)
Hamdallah scored his first league goal in a 3-0 away win to Al Raed. The 32-year-old Moroccan striker, who joined Al Ittihad in December 2021, has scored five goals this term.
He also scored in a 2-0 win against Al Tal. The Moroccan scored three other goals. He scored a brace against Al Riyadh in a 4-0 win and another in a 3-4 home loss to Al Hilal.
Hamdallah was the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League last season with 21 goals, beating Anderson Talisca (Al Nassr – 20), Odion Ighalo (Al Hilal – 19), Firas Al Brikan (Al Fateh – 17) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr – 14).
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al Hilal – 5)
Aleksandr Mitrovic joined Al Hilal from Fulham this summer and is already justifying the outlay on him.
The Saudi Pro League side shelled out £50 million for his services.
He scored his first league goal for the club on August 24, 2023, in a 4-0 win over Al Raed. He also bagged a hat trick in a 4-3 away win over Al Ittihad.
The Serbian has five league goals so far.
Firas Al-Brikan (Al Ahli – 5)
Feras Al-Brikan is a Saudi international with six goals for the senior national team. He has featured for the U-20 and U-23 sides of Saudi Arabia.
He joined Al Ahli this summer from Al Fateh on a five-year deal for a reported fee of SAR40 million (around €9.9 million).
The striker has notched five goals in the Saudi Pro League this term.
Mourad Batna (Al Fateh – 5)
Mourad Batna is a Moroccan winger who joined Al Fateh in 2020. He scored ten goals for Al Fateh last term and may increase that haul this term.
With Al-Brikan off to Al Ahli, he has already notched five goals this term, with his latest – a brace in the 3-1 away win to Al Khaleej.
He has scored two-thirds of Al Fateh’s goals in the Saudi Pro League as they lie eighth on the log.
Moussa Dembélé (Al Ettifaq – 6)
Al Ettifaq spent €36.3 million in recruiting players from Europe this summer.
Several players who enlisted to play in the Saudi Pro League include Moussa Dembélé, who joined from Olympique Lyon (France).
The French forward, who joined on a free transfer, has started earning his keep with the club.
He has scored six league goals this term, with the latest a brace in the 4-3 win over Al Tai.
Malcom (Al Hilal – 6)
Malcom has been around Europe. The 26-year-old forward has found a new life at Al Hilal after poor stints with Bordeaux and FC Barcelona.
He has started life in brilliant form at the Saudi club.
The Brazilian has played in seven Saudi Pro League matches this term and has netted six goals.
Malcom joined Al Hila from Zenit St Petersburg in the summer for €60m and scored on his debut in a 3–1 victory over Al-Ittihad in the Arab Club Champions Cup quarter-finals.
He also scored a hat trick in his league debut on August 14 as Al Hilal beat Abha 3–1.
Sadio Mané (Al Nasr – 6)
Sadio Mane had a torrid time at Bayern Munich, where he struggled to reproduce his Liverpool form.
However, the Senegalese star is enjoying life at Al Nasr, with his partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo yielding dividends.
Al Nasr is fifth on the Saudi Pro League table, with Mané scoring six.
The former Liverpool star is behind teammate Cristiano Ronaldo on the scorers table.
Salem Al-Dawsari (Al Hilal – 6)
Salem Al-Dawsari is a veteran of the Saudi Pro League. He has been part of Al Hilal since 2011 when he joined them as a youth player.
In 2018, as part of a deal between the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and La Liga, he joined Spanish club Villarreal on loan.
The Saudi veteran had only one substitute appearance for Villarreal in a 2-2 come-from-behind draw against Real Madrid.
The 32-year-old winger has six league goals so far.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr – 9)
Cristiano Ronaldo is not a new name in football. What was strange was the decision to move to the Saudi Pro League from Manchester United.
Following the move on December 30, the 38-year-old is not letting up.
He is perhaps why other star players like Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané, Ngolo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez and Neymar joined the Middle Eastern League.
Ronaldo is on a yearly salary of €200 million and scored 14 league goals last term and is already on course to beat that tally.
He has nine league goals and four assists.
| Top Scorers | ||||
| RK | Name | Team | GP | Goals |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | 6 | 9 |
| 2 | Salem Al-Dawsari | Al Hilal | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | Sadio Mané | Al Nassr | 7 | 6 |
| 4 | Malcom | Al Hilal | 7 | 6 |
| 5 | Moussa Dembélé | Al Ettifaq | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Mourad Batna | Al Fateh | 7 | 5 |
| 7 | Feras Al-Brikan | Al Ahli | 6 | 5 |
| 8 | Aleksandar Mitrovic | Al Hilal | 5 | 5 |
| 9 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Ittihad | 5 | 5 |
| 10 | Odion Ighalo | Al Wehda | 5 | 5 |
| Top Assists | ||||
| RK | Name | Team | GP | Assists |
| 1 | Mateus | Al Taawoun | 7 | 4 |
| 2 | Abdulrahman Ghareeb | Al Nassr | 7 | 4 |
| 3 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | Jordan Henderson | Al Ettifaq | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | Faycal Fajr | Al Wehda | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | N'Golo Kanté | Al Ittihad | 7 | 2 |
| 7 | Lucas Zelarayán | Al Fateh | 7 | 2 |
| 8 | Allan Saint-Maximin | Al Ahli | 7 | 2 |
| 9 | Riyad Mahrez | Al Ahli | 7 | 2 |
| 10 | Karim Benzema | Al Ittihad | 6 | 2 |
This article was most recently revised and updated 12 months ago
