Ronaldo v Benzema: Who will emerge as RSL's No.1 marksman? | OneFootball

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the careers of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are often each framed around the other.

Former Real Madrid teammates, the pair perch at the top of the European giants’ all-time scoring charts. In that, Ronaldo pips Benzema, the former’s 450 goals in 438 matches superior to latter’s 354 in 648. Both, though, represent incredible outputs.

Even now, their respective resumes continue to intertwine. Both Ballon d’Or winners – again, Ronaldo trumps Benzema, at five to one – ply their trade in the Roshn Saudi League. Both captain their clubs: Ronaldo, at Al Nassr, Benzema at Al Ittihad.

And, while the duo underline how they prioritise collective accolades over the individual, both are locked in the fight to conclude the 2024-25 RSL with the season’s golden boot.

On Wednesday, at Al Nassr’s Al Awwal Park, they come into direct contact. There, Ronaldo will be dead set on adding to his unrivalled 23 league goals this campaign, and thus extending his advantage at the summit of the scoring charts.

Benzema, meanwhile, will be gunning for a 19th goal of an already-exceptional RSL season. At various times throughout the past few months, the superstars have played down the significance of this personal, but professional, battle.

Ronaldo, remember, prefers not to focus on chasing down the remarkable milestone of 1,000 career goals. At 934 currently, and even beyond his 40th birthday, it does feel attainable in the most seemingly unattainable of footballing journeys.

“I enjoy the moment,” Ronaldo said in the aftermath of yet another star turn, in last month’s momentous Capital Derby victory at champions Al Hilal.

“It was a great win, not because I scored - of course, I'm happy to score two goals against Al Hilal - but the most important thing is to win the derby."

For his part, Benzema has more than once emphasised his primary objective: leading Al Ittihad to the RSL title.

The Frenchman doubled down on as much the last time he faced the media. Asked about the race with Ronaldo following his side’s nervy win against Al Ettifaq in Matchweek 29, Benzema replied: “I don’t care about this, my friend. The most important thing is the [RSL] trophy.”

Understandably, that figures at the forefront of Benzema’s mind. With five matches remaining, Al Ittihad are six points clear of Al Hilal at the summit. They are three wins from guaranteeing a second top-flight title in three years.

Victory, then, at third-placed Al Nassr, would feel seismic. Irrespective of the top-scorer prize, Benzema will want to offer as much to Al Ittihad there as he has throughout this term.

For what it’s worth, Benzema holds the upper hand when it comes to encounters between the former colleagues. In seven matches, he has tasted success three times to Ronaldo’s two. Although, the Portuguese does have six goals, while Benzema has five.

Upon their most recent meeting, back at the beginning of December, Benzema opened the scoring at Alinma Stadium before Ronaldo equalised two minutes later.

Ultimately, though, to Benzema went the spoils: Steven Bergwijn struck in injury-time to snatch a 2-1 win and send Al Ittihad into the winter break at the top of the table.

Sixteen matchweeks on, they sit snuggly in the same spot. For sure, Benzema would take the same result in the reverse fixture in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Get on the scoresheet again, and he could also eat into Ronaldo’s bid to retain the golden boot he clinched last season in record-breaking fashion.

But, listening to Benzema, that’s simply another fascinating subplot in his bid for championship glory. Titanic teammates at Madrid, he and Ronaldo find themselves divided now in the hunt for honours in the Kingdom.