Cristiano Ronaldo leads goal-scoring charts for 2023

Al Nassr’s forward, Cristiano Ronaldo has surged to the top of the goal-scoring charts for 2023, positioning himself as the year’s leading goal-scorer with 53 goals – 43 for Al Nassr and 10 for Portugal.

The 38-year-old, who linked up with Al Nassr in the winter transfer window after parting ways with Manchester United following his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, has continued to showcase his brilliance, which led him to the top of European football.

Ronaldo seems prepared to continue to prove doubters wrong having scored 53 goals and provided 15 assists in 58 matches across all competitions.

On this list of top scorers with him lie Ligue 1 star Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland of Manchester City, and England captain Harry Kane in close range for the title of the best goalscorer of 2023.

Remarkably, both Kane and Mbappe are now unable to claim the top spot, as their clubs are set to resume official competitions only in 2024.

The only potential contender, Erling Haaland, has accumulated 50 goals in 60 matches for Manchester City but now looks set to be ruled out of Citey’s final game of the year, following a slow recovery from his injury which had kept him out of the Club World Cup and the Cityzens’ last five games.

Speaking on Haaland’s injury, Guardiola suggested he might not be ready to play against Sheffield United,

“The bone is fit but painful. He’s not like [Phil] Foden who is small and skinny. Erling is huge so it’s difficult at times.

“He’ll be fine, and when he is he’ll be back and play. The doctors come every morning and say ‘this player is available and this one is not’. Until then, I create the team and we play games.”

On the back of an incredible run of form from last season, Haaland becomes one of only four players in world football to reach a half-century of goals this year. But after being possibly ruled out of that game, Haaland is now unable to catch Ronaldo.

List of top goal-scorers in 2023

• Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr) – 53 goals (58 matches)
• Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 52 goals (53 matches)
• Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) – 52 goals (57 matches)
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 50 goals (60 matches)
• Garbhan Coughlan (Cashmere Technical) – 41 goals (27 matches)
• Denis Bouanga (Los Angeles FC) – 40 goals (53 matches)
• German Cano (Fluminense) – 40 goals (61 matches)
• Romelu Lukaku (Roma) – 40 goals (61 matches)
• Barnabas Varga (Ferencvaros) – 39 goals (45 matches)
• Santiago Gimenez (Feyenoord) – 39 goals (63 matches)