Ronaldo was trailing both Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane prior to Boxing Day, with both Ligue 1, where Mbappe plays, and the Bundesliga, where Kane plays, in the middle of a winter break, so not currently playing.

Both Kane and Mbappe will end the year with 52 goals, with Ronaldo’s most recent strike taking him clear in front with 54.

CRISTIANO RONALDO SCORES HIS 873RD CAREER GOAL 🤯

THE GREATEST PLAYER EVER 🐐pic.twitter.com/1pzrBZWkgb

— fan (@NoodleHairCR7) December 30, 2023

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to end 2023 as the highest scorer in world football for the fifth time

   

Kylian Mbappe (left) and Harry Kane (right) will both end the year on 52 goals each amid their sides’ winter breaks.

Al-Nassr beat last year’s Saudi Pro League winners Al-Ittihad 5-2 on Boxing Day, with Ronaldo scoring twice from the penalty spot.

Those goals took him one ahead of his rivals, giving him one game to spare as he moved clear as the outright leading scorer for 2023 out of all players worldwide.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t slowing down this weekend, however, netting two more goals on Saturday as he celebrated yet another accolade.

Erling Haaaland will finish up on 50 goals having missed Manchester City’s last six games through injury

Another player who could have run the forward close is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, but he has been sidelined for the last few games through injury.

A foot issue has meant the Premier League record-breaker has missed City’s last four Premier League matches, as well as the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

He netted 50 goals overall in the year.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, takes the accolade for the fifth time, also finishing top scorer in the world in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 while at Real Madrid.