Cristiano Ronaldo close to breaking Saudi league record after Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe battle

Cristiano Ronaldo is a hat-trick away from breaking the Saudi Pro League record for goals scored in a calendar year.

Ronaldo, 38, has 63 hat-tricks across his 16-year career, and a 64th one would set records in Saudi Arabia. The Al Nassr star has 33 goals in 33 league games for the Riyadh-based club, equal to the total former Al Ahli striker Omar Al Somah scored in 2016.

But it is Al Ittihad 's Abderrazak Hamdallah who holds the record with 35 goals in 2019. The Morocco international surpassed Al Somah with a hat-trick in his last game of the year, and now Ronaldo must do the same if he is to best Hamdallah four years on.

Al Nassr ends 2023 with an away match against Al Taawoun, who currently sit fourth. They are also one of only three sides to inflict a defeat on Ronaldo's team, recording a 2-0 win in the second game of this season.

They also kept the year's top goalscorer quiet in their other league meeting with Al Nassr in 2023. But while he did not find the back of the net, Ronaldo assisted both goals in February's 2-1 win.

However, he is in hot form this month, scoring four times in his last three games, including a brace last time out against Al Ittihad. He has not failed to get himself a goal since the 3-0 loss to league-leaders Al Hilal on December 1.

That recent run has also seen Ronaldo overhaul Bayern Munich 's Harry Kane and Paris Saint-Germain 's Kylian Mbappe to end 2023 as the top goalscorer in the calendar year. Across all competitions, including international matches, Ronaldo has 53 goals for the year.

That is one more than Mbappe and Kane, who now do not play again until the New Year. Thanks to an untimely injury, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland trails the trio with only 50 goals.

Alongside his 33 league