Who will rival Ronaldo for 2024-25 Golden Boot?

After a delayed return to pre-season because of UEFA European Championship Germany 2024 commitments, Cristiano Ronaldo is back in competitive action on Wednesday for Al Nassr.

The club captain will be hoping to personally pick up where he left off last season: he scored 35 goals to set a record for most goals in a single Roshn Saudi League campaign.

Ronaldo’s comeback, though, comes in the Saudi Super Cup in Abha, when Al Nassr take on Al Taawoun in the second of the competition’s two semi-finals (on Tuesday, RSL champions Al Hilal defeated Al Ahli on penalties).

Still, Ronaldo will be keen not only to shoot his side into Saturday's final and towards the first piece of silverware of the season, but set a marker for all those prolific peers eying his golden boot in the 2024-25 RSL campaign.

But who looks most likely to battle the Portuguese superstar for the individual prize? Here we nominate five potential rivals for top scorer in the upcoming RSL season, which gets under way on August 22.

Aleksandar Mitrovic – Al Hilal

The Al Hilal hotshot has to be among the favourites to challenge for individual honours given his dazzling debut season last time out. The Serbian international struck an incredible 28 goals in 28 appearances to fire the Riyadh club to the title. Do the math, and Mitrovic would most probably have added a few more if he played every match. And with Neymar expected to be back early into the season to help supply Al Hilal’s No.9, then the goals should flow once more.

Abderrazak Hamdallah – Al Shabab

Another striker who can’t be omitted from such a list. Unlike Mitrovic, the Moroccan is an RSL veteran; so much so, that he sits second on the all-time chart for goals, with 129. Last season, Hamdallah found the net 19 times in 25 RSL appearances for Al Ittihad and thus finished joint-third in the top-scorer race. This time, he’s swapped Jeddah for Riyadh, signing for Al Shabab and the promise of a new lease of life. What's more, finding the 15 goals to initially overtake Omar Al Somah on the all-time list could go so way to sealing Hamdallah a remarkable fourth golden boot.

Feras Al Buraikan – Al Ahli

The top-scoring Saudi Arabian last season with 17 goals, Al Buraikan settled in immediately at Al Ahli having begun the 2023-24 campaign with Al Fateh. To be fair, he has for some time showcased his credentials, notching 17 goals in 30 RSL appearances in the 2022-23 season and almost a goal every two games the campaign before that. At 24, the Saudi international is certainly coming into his own and, with a star support cast at Al Ahli led by 2023-24 RSL lead assister Riyad Mahrez, Al Buraikan may just get even more of a tune out of his trademark guitar celebration.

Moussa Dembele – Al Ettifaq

OK, so Al Ettifaq’s star recruit did not enjoy the best of seasons on debut last term, but that was caused in large part by injury – and he still managed 12 goals in 24 RSL appearances. Of course, a player of Dembele’s ilk will demand a greater return than a goal every two games, and that should prove a motivating factor in making him more potent in the upcoming campaign. That manager Steven Gerrard will no doubt call for more from his Al Ettifaq team in his second season at the club could leave Dembele to reap the individual rewards.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Al Qadsiah

The only striker on this list who hasn’t yet sampled the Saudi top flight, however, such is the Frenchman’s track record, he will for sure be thinking of nabbing that 2024-25 golden boot. Aubameyang has generally scored goals wherever he’s been, from Saint Etienne to Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Olympique de Marseille. Last season’s 17 in 34 Ligue 1 appearances for the latter means his overall club career tally sits comfortably beyond the 400-goal mark. Factor in Al Qadsiah’s heavy summer recruitment drive, and Aubameyang will be a name to watch.