If Cristiano Ronaldo's recent form wasn't enough to demonstrate he is not done just quite yet, the Portugal captain sent a warning to his doubter via social media following his most recent hat trick.
Ronaldo has been enjoying another sensational start to a calendar year, scoring back-to-back hat tricks in his last two matches for Al Nassr.
The 39-year-old has been far and away the standout player of the Saudi Pro League campaign, despite the arrival of younger European talent in the summer such as Riyad Mahrez, Karim Benzema, and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
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Ronaldo currently leads the way in both goals and assists in the division, finding the net 29 times and assisting 10 times in just 24 matches. That is 12 more goal involvements than second-placed Mitrovic.
Four of those goal involvements came last night against Abha despite coming off at halftime.
Ronaldo opened the scoring with a powerful free kick from the edge of the box that flew past the goalkeeper before he could react.
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The Al Nassr striker grabbed his second in a similar fashion, but this time it was a far more emphatic free kick that left the keeper rooted. Ronaldo had wrapped up his hat-trick by the 42nd minute with a delightful chip after being played through on goal.
People can say what they want about Ronaldo's decision to move to Saudi, but the simple fact is he is outperforming those in the prime of their careers who have followed him to the SPL.
After last night's match, Ronaldo took to social media and issued a short but sweet message to both his haters and his fans.
The post read: "We are not slowing down!"
Ronaldo will be hoping to be an important player for Portugal in the upcoming Euros in Germany, as he looks to extend both of his records of most goals and caps at International level.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr, Saudi Pro League, Football, Portugal
Tom Jenkins