Moroccan forward breaks incredible UEFA record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo and 2 other stars in Olympiacos' UECL triumph
Olympiacos ace Ayoub El Kaabi surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo and two other stars to become the player with the most goals in the knockout stages of a UEFA tournament this Wednesday.
Kaabi, 30, emerged as Olympiacos' savior in their 1-0 UEFA Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina at OPAP Arena, the home of rivals AEK Athens. He scored a diving header in the 116th minute of the summit clash, making his team the first Greek side to win a major European competition in the process.
A 44-cap Morocco international, Kaabi ended his UEFA campaign with 11 goals in nine knockout games. He most notably scored a whopping five goals against Aston Villa, across his team's two-legged semi-final.
Now, the left-footed forward has overtaken Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Radamel Falcao to set a new record in the UEFA knockout stage.
Ronaldo, who has scored 140 Champions League goals in his career, previously held the record due to his 10 goals for Real Madrid in the 2016-17 season. He scored back-to-back hat-tricks against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid before netting twice on his way to victory in the final against Juventus.
Benzema, on the other hand, is also level with the Portuguese's tally owing to his 10 goals in Real Madrid's 2021-22 Champions League-winning run. Falcao netted his 10 knockout goals for Porto in their Europa League-winning season in the 2010-11 campaign.
El Kaabi, who joined Olympiacos on a free transfer after departing Qatari side Al-Sadd, relished his best-ever season in terms of his goal tally. He scored 33 goals and laid out three assists in 50 matches.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo has broken new ground at his current club Al-Nassr. He found the back of the net twice, taking his league goal tally to 35 this season, in his side's 4-2 win over Benzema's Al-Ittihad earlier this Monday. As a result, he is now the player with the most goals in a single campaign in the Saudi Pro League's history.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in race to sign Manchester United star Casemiro this year
According to GOAL Brasil, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, and Al-Qadsiah are all interested in signing Casemiro this summer. However, none of the clubs are prepared to match Manchester United's £30 million price tag.
While the two other Saudi clubs are the most willing teams to sign Casemiro, Cristiano Ronaldo's side are wary about their pursuit. They deem Marcelo Brozovic as a fine number six option and would be keen to splash the cash to bolster other positions in their squad.
Casemiro, 32, has struggled to shine for Manchester United this season, attracting scrutiny from fans and pundits alike. He registered five goals and three assists in 32 overall appearances for the Red Devils.