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via Reuters

via Reuters

Superstar players who represent European powerhouses play second fiddle to Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo in this year’s goal-scoring race. Playing for the Riyadh-based outfit and the Portugal team, Ronaldo tallied 53 goals this year. His competitors in the Saudi Pro League could only aspire to near CR7’s goal tally, let alone equal or break it. However, this does not mean everyone regards him as the league’s best foreign player. An Al Ettifaq star has now comfortably snubbed the Portuguese captain and instead picked one of his midfielder teammates.

Ali Hazazi‘s snub of Cristiano Ronaldo is now doing rounds on the web. For him, the Saudi Pro League’s best foreigner was a $20 million investment by Al Nassr.

Who did Ali Hazazi pick over Cristiano Ronaldo?

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According to Al Nassr Zone, Al Ettifaq’s Ali Hazazi thinks Marcelo Brozovic is better than his foreign peers. “Marcelo Brozovic is the best foreign player in the league,” claimed Hazazi. Ever since his move to Al Nassr, the midfield anchor has been earning a reputation as the league’s best. Renowned Saudi Arabian journalists have comfortably overlooked the likes of Al Hilal’s Sergej Milinkovic Savic and others to praise the Croatian’s prowess in the middle of the pitch.

Besides that, Al Hilal goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais had earlier opined that Marcelo Brozovic will finish the season as the league’s best player. Therefore, an Al Ettifaq player having the same opinion on Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammate is no surprise. Furthermore, since the league is yet to come to an end, Brozovic might actually finish as the best of the lot. Until then, with regard to consistency and statistics, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to have done better than the Croatian star.

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Has Marcelo Brozovic really surpassed Ronaldo?

Not yet. In the 2023-24 season, Marcelo Brozovic has played 22 matches, tallying just two goals and five assists. He missed a couple of league matches owing to an injury. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, has played 24 matches, tallying 23 goals and 11 assists. Considering the goal-scoring machine he is, 23 goals are no big number for CR7. But him tallying 11 assists to Brozovic’s five is a clear win, as the former is a forward and the latter is a playmaking midfielder.

READ MORE: Never Late in 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo Rewarded 15 Days Leave by Al Nassr Before New Year

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Moreover, CR7 playing more matches at the age of 38 is proof that he is less prone to injuries than Brozovic. Therefore, the on-field performances of these two indeed contradict Al Hazazi’s claim. But the claim was not too farfetched either, as Brozovic is widely labeled as the Saudi Pro League’s best midfielder. Anyhow, by the end of the season, the Croatian could raise the stakes. But remember that Ronaldo is not resting either.

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