The 32-year-old Moroccan international will be bidding to defend his Kingdom’s top scorer crown this time around, but it’s safe to say, he has some serious competition on his hands.

A whole host of former European strikers will be strutting their stuff out in the Middle East, with Brazilian megastar Neymar joining the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as one of the division’s poster boys.

As the 2023-24 campaign rumbles on, GOAL is on hand to monitor the exploits of the most prolific marksmen in Saudi Arabia.

1 Cristiano Ronaldo | Al-Nassr | 15 goals

The icon. The legend. The GOAT? Wherever the former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker ranks in the history of sporting greats, his influence on the Saudi Pro League cannot be understated.

After all, it was his transfer to Al-Nassr back in December 2022 that paved the way for other big names across the footballing world to follow suit. Ronaldo is still a match-winner for Al-Nassr, and perhaps the club’s most clutch performer even in the twilight of his career.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had a productive half-season in Riyadh last term, bagging 14 goals, but the Portuguese superstar will be desperate to add personal and team awards to a packed career trophy cabinet, having led the Knights of Najd to their first-ever Arab Club Champions Cup triumph recently.

2 Aleksandar Mitrovic | Al-Hilal | 13 goals

The former Fulham striker does not have the same boasting trophy cabinet and UEFA Champions League-winning credentials as some of the players that have moved across to the Middle-East this past summer. But what he does have is a towering frame and a head for goal that bullies defenders.

Despite never reaching the heights of Champions League stardom, Al Hilal’s new frontman bagged more than 40 goals in England’s second tier, which could be a better comparison for Saudi Pro League defenders for the time being. He also scored 15 Premier League goals last time out, which is easy task either. The Serbian goal machine is off to a flyer, and scoring goals for fun in the Middle East.

3 Georges-Kévin N’Koudou | Damac | 11 goals

The 28-year-old winger was lured to the Saudi Pro League by Damac in the summer. N’Koudou struggled to make an impact in the Premier League with Spurs, but he hasn’t had any of those struggles in his new surroundings. After enjoying some solid seasons with Besiktas in Turkish Super Lig, N’Koudou is looking sharp in front of goal for his new club.

4 Malcolm | Al-Hilal | 9 goals

Former Barcelona attacker Malcolm lifted the Russian Premier League title last season with Zenit as the top scorer (23) in the league before joining Al-Hilal for a club-record €60 million.

The 26-year-old Brazilian winger has made a fine start to his career in Saudi Pro League, scoring a fine hat-trick in Al Hilal’s 3-1 win over Abha on Matchday 1, and will be hoping to spearhead Al Hilal’s title-charge with his goal-scoring exploits in 2023/24.

5 Karim Benzema | Al-Ittihad | 9 goals

After 14 years with Real Madrid, 2022-23 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema took a a new challenge in the Middle-East and joined the reigning Pro League champions Al-Ittihad with a clear remit – score goals. His niggling injury issues aside, the Frenchman has just done that so far, and is a strong contender for the Saudi Pro League golden boot.