Looking up at those above him in the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League scoring charts – to be fair, such has been his fabulous form, there aren’t many – only makes Myziane Maolida resolve to work even harder.
The Al Kholood striker is one of the competition’s most prolific strikers at present, his 12 goals thus far a principal part of the RSL debutants’ superb first campaign in the Saudi Arabian top flight.
With Maolida at their tip, and ably supplied by the likes of Barcelona youth product Alex Collado, Al Kholood have sprouted from relegation candidates to knocking on the door of a top-half finish. With 10 rounds remaining, they sit 10th. What's more, they are four points off seventh.
Maolida, like Al Kholood experiencing a first season in the RSL, represents a mighty reason for their mid-to-late season bloom.
Signed last summer from Germany’s Hertha Berlin, the Comoros forward has been a steady and stellar goalscorer having taken only two RSL appearances to find the net - a last-minute penalty in September to rescue a 3-3 draw at home to fellow new boys Al Orobah.
Since announcing his arrival, Maolida has scored at a clip of a goal every two league matches.
So, it’s from a position of strength in the race for the RSL golden boot that the French-born forward speaks; only seven players have had more success in front of goal this season.
And those names include RSL legend Abderrazak Hamdallah, England international Ivan Toney, Mexico counterpart Julian Quinones, and former Ballon d’Or winners Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. After 24 rounds, the Portuguese superstar leads the way, with 18.
It gives Maolida something to strive towards.
“It’s my best season in terms of statistics, even if today I am not satisfied with my game,” he tells the SPL. “I have areas that are progressing; I have to work a lot on them and keep focusing to get closer to the best of the league.
“[Those are] concentration. Finishing. And clear decisions in the final third. I think I can do much better, so I will focus on them to try to end the season on a high with the 10 matches to go.”
What's certain is that Maolida will get closer to Ronaldo this weekend – literally. On Friday, this upwardly mobile Al Kholood travel to the capital to take on fourth-placed Al Nassr, who retain hope of a top-three finish or even a late title challenge (they lie 10 points back from leaders Al Ittihad).
Their previous meeting, in Matchweek 8 in late October, represented one of the Ar Rass club’s most notable results this campaign. Back then, Maolida twice put Al Kholood ahead before Anderson Talisca secured Al Nassr a last-gasp draw with a 95th-minute penalty.
Now, though, with Al Kholood having won seven of 11 league matches since the beginning of the year - including their past two – they should constitute an even tougher test this Friday.
In those 11 matches, Maolida has scored seven goals, including winners against Al Wehda and Al Khaleej. Yet his 2025 flourish has been no fluke. He has the extra hard yards in the tank to prove it.
“I am used to practising every day,” Maolida says. “Every morning - I have had this habit for some time - then I go back home to rest, and I go to the team training in the afternoon. This is my routine.
“Directly after the games, I go to have my ice bath to recover well. I think it’s important to keep up the games and not get hurt.”
The ice baths are surely something Ronaldo, renowned for his rigorous training regime and recovery, would surely approve of. Like the Al Nassr captain, who at 40 sustains an incredible output, Maolida is currently nestled snuggly in his groove.
“This is one of the best moments in my career,” he says, before emphasising his previous point. “I am feeling good, but I can do much better. I will keep working and be more demanding to achieve much higher goals.”
Undeniably, Al Kholood are benefitting from that work ethic, from Maolida’s commitment to self-betterment. Just ask his teammates.
“He is a differential player,” Collado says. “He scored 12 goals already; he brings us his determination up front. I am very happy with him.”
“He is our goal scorer,” midfielder Aliou Dieng adds, matter-of-factly. “He always scores for us, even if he could score more. Congratulations to him. God willing, he will score more and more goals for us.”
Rest assured, Maolida plans to. Having made the transition from Olympique Lyonnais and Nice in his homeland to Hertha in Germany, to a highly successful loan at Hibernian in Scotland and ultimately to Saudi, he is clearly used to getting to grips with new leagues and fresh environments.
“It’s a good league: games are played with intensity and there are a lot of good players,” he says. “The games are different, depending on the teams. I didn’t know that much about the league before being here.
“But now, since I am here, I can see that it is a good league, with good players, good matches. So, I am very happy to be here.”
And maybe, just maybe, he can continue his contribution and drag himself closer to Ronaldo and the other goalscorer above him. If so, both he and Al Kholood will prosper.
“We play game after game and try to be effective,” Maolida says. “We will try to continue this momentum. We are in good position - we have to keep going like this.”
