Race for Golden Boot: Can anyone take Ronaldo's crown? | OneFootball

They’re what win football matches, so it’s no surprise that those who score them are considered the rockstars of a team.We’re, of course, talking about goals; the moment an encounter explodes in euphoria when the back on the net ripples and the crowd erupts.

Those who score them are often viewed to be the game’s brightest stars, which can certainly be seen in the Roshn Saudi League. The race for the competition's golden boot is hotly contested each season, and this term is shaping up to be no different.

So, with the 2025-26 campaign set to return on Thursday, we take a look at the top contenders for this year’s gong.

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Joao Felix (11 goals)

What an impact the former Portuguese wunderkind has made at Al Nassr through the early stages of his debut season in the RSL, his partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo turning out even better than anyone could possibly have imagined.

The tone was set with an opening-day hat-trick against Al Taawoun, with a second treble coming in October against Al Fateh. In the latter, Felix scored one of his best goals of the campaign as he scythed this way through the opposition defence before finishing with aplomb.

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Cristiano Ronaldo (10)

They’ve been scoring goals for fun at Al Nassr this season, and between Felix and Ronaldo, they have accounted for 21 of the team’s 30.

Despite turning 41 in a couple of months, club captain Ronaldo shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, the winner of the past two golden boots could even break the 30-goal barrier again this term, which would take him past the 100-goal mark in near-record time.

But no matter how many Ronaldo scores, none will surely beat his acrobatic overhead-kick against Al Khaleej that defied his age and showed why he is still regarded as the GOAT.

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Joshua King (9)

What a revelation the Norwegian international has proven to be upon debut at Al Khaleej. It’s been a long while since King hit 36 goals in three seasons for Bournemouth in the English Premier League, with six being his best return in a single campaign since netting 12 in 2018-19.

But this season, he has rediscovered his former potency, transforming not only his own fortunes, but that of Al Khaleej too; currently, they sit sixth in the table. King’s best performance came against Al Riyadh in October, when he struck a hat-trick.

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Marcos Leonardo (6)

After his standout showing at the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the summer, the Brazilian has picked up where he left off in North America to lead the line expertly for Al Hilal.

While the club spent big on Liverpool star Darwin Nunez, who has four goals of his own, injuries have curtailed somewhat the Uruguayan’s impact.

In his place, Leonardo has stepped up again, as he did last term in the absence of Aleksandar Mitrovic. Displaying his dazzling front play, the former Benfica man was reinstated to the line-up in September and duly repaid the faith by scoring in four straight games.

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Julian Quinones (6)

It could be argued that the Mexican lives a little in the shadows of higher-profile strike partners at Al Qadsiah - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last season, and Mateo Retegui this. However, that doesn't seem to faze him as he just gets on with doing what he does best: scoring goals.

Quinones’ best performance was undoubtedly the hat-trick recorded against NEOM Sports Club in October as Al Qadsiah picked up an important 3-1 win against the RSL newcomers who, like the victors that day, are hugely ambitious in their desire to become top-flight heavyweights.

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Roger Martinez (6)

The Colombian international arrived at Al Taawoun in the winter transfer window last season, and made an instant impact in Buraidah.

Martinez finished the 2024-25 campaign with six goals, but has already matched that effort in the opening nine rounds of this season, including a hat-trick against Al Fateh early last month.

With two assists as well, the frontman has played a significant role in Al Taawoun finding themselves in third place in the RSL. Can they have another incredible campaign?

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Ramiro Enrique (5)

The Argentine was one of the final players through the door at Al Kholood in the off-season, but he has burst out of the blocks after transferring from MLS side Orlando City.

Enrique netted on his home debut, beginning of run of four goals in his next five RSL appearances as he took the competition by storm.

While the recent game against city rivals Al Hazem ended in defeat, his effort in the opening minutes of the RSL’s first-ever Ar Rass derby is the one goal that stands out.

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Mateo Retegui (5)

One of the headline additions of the summer to the RSL, last season’s Serie A golden-boot winner wasted little time settling into his new surrounds with a brace on the opening day against Al Najmah.

Retegui, an Italian international, scored another double last month against Al Kholood, but it was his free-kick in a 2-1 win against Al Khaleej that takes its place as one of the best strikes of the opening few months of this RSL campaign.

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Mamadou Sylla (5)

There hasn’t been a lot to write home about for Al Riyadh thus far, however, the form of Senegalese striker Sylla has been one of the bright spots.

Arriving from Spanish outfit Valladolid, he found the net in four of his first six games. What’s interesting to note from his five goals in all is that three of those have come from headers.

It highlights Sylla's clear-and-present threat from set-pieces, which opposition teams will need to have cottoned onto by the time the RSL returns this week. That begins on Thursday, with the home clash with Al Ettifaq.

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Ivan Toney (5)

While the England international admitted it took him time last season to transition from the English Premier League, there were no such issues this term.

In Al Ahli’s very first fixture of the 2025-26 RSL, against new boys NEOM SC, Toney struck the game’s only goal as the Asian and Saudi Super Cup champions laid down an early marker.

Then, in Matchweek 3, the former Brentford man bagged a brace in Al Ahli’s stunning comeback against Al Hilal - one of the matches of the season to this point.

With 25 goals through 2025, no one has registered more in the calendar year. And that bodes well going into 2026, for both Toney and fourth-placed Al Ahli.

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And this is why our Portuguese superstar remains the man to beat...