---
title: "Ronaldo Answers 'Best Ever' Ballon d'Or Vote With Al Nassr Hat-Trick"
url: https://sports23.net/ronaldo-answers-best-ever-ballon-d-or-vote-with-al-nassr-hat-trick
published: 2026-10-30T03:36:27Z
updated: 2026-10-30T03:36:34Z
summary: "Ronaldo scored three times in 15 minutes as Al Nassr beat Al Kholood 5-3 in the Saudi Pro League, days after fans voted his 2008 Ballon d'Or the best ever."
author: "Sports23 Editorial"
tags: ["Al Nassr", "Cristiano Ronaldo", "Football", "Hat-Trick", "Saudi Pro League"]
lang: en
---

# Ronaldo Answers 'Best Ever' Ballon d'Or Vote With Al Nassr Hat-Trick

*Three goals in 15 second-half minutes at Al-Awwal Park took the 41-year-old to 985 career goals — 15 short of 1,000.*

Two days after fans voted his 2008 Ballon d'Or the [greatest edition in the award's history](/ronaldo-2008-ballon-dor-voted-best-ever-by-fans), Cristiano Ronaldo answered on the pitch: a 15-minute second-half hat-trick that powered Al Nassr to a wild 5-3 win over Al Kholood in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday night.

## A first half that refused to settle

The Matchday 12 meeting at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh never followed a script. Ronaldo had an early goal ruled out for offside in the 10th minute, and Al Kholood struck first when Julien Domingues finished off Abdulrahman Al-Dawsari's cross in the 16th.

Al Nassr hit back through Ângelo in the 24th minute after a neat combination with João Félix, then Sadio Mané made it 2-1 in the 38th. The visitors would not lie down: Antoine Essomba levelled at 2-2 deep in first-half stoppage time, and Ronaldo thought he had restored the lead right on the whistle — only to be denied by the flag for a second time.

## Fifteen minutes of Ronaldo

The second half belonged to the 41-year-old. In the 66th minute he turned in João Félix's cutback for 3-2. Six minutes later he headed home the fourth, again created by Félix. And in the 81st he completed the hat-trick after Mané carved the opening — three goals in 15 minutes, 5-2 on the board.

Félix finished the night with four assists. Domingues converted a stoppage-time penalty for Al Kholood to complete his own brace, but 5-3 was where the chaos stopped.

## What the numbers say

- **985 career goals** — Ronaldo is now 15 short of the 1,000 mark, already the all-time leading scorer in football history, 49 clear of Lionel Messi's 936.
- **67th career hat-trick** — his seventh for Al Nassr and his first for the club since May 2024, ending a wait of nearly two and a half years.
- **Table:** the win keeps Al Nassr second in the Saudi Pro League on 28 points, level with leaders Al-Qadsiah, with Al Hilal a point further back.

"Great win, great team performance. Happy to help with a hat-trick!" Ronaldo posted on X after the final whistle.