By Adegboyega Adeleye

Cristiano Ronaldo produced a man-of-the-match performance by scoring four times to surpass the 500 career league goal mark as Al Nassr beat Al Wehda 4-0 in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday.

The Portuguese forward, who celebrated his 38th birthday on Sunday, scored all four goals of the match in a 40-minute period–either side of the break to achieve another ground-breaking milestone in his stellar career.

He has now scored 503 league goals for five different clubs in five different leagues.

After scoring a last-minute penalty to rescue a point for Al Nassr last week, Ronaldo opened his scoring mark for the evening with a left-footed strike into the bottom corner midway through the first half.

The Al-Nassr captain scored his second with a calm finish past the onrushing goalkeeper a few minutes before halftime and completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute by firing a spot-kick into the bottom corner.

He has now scored 61 hat-tricks in his career– 31 since he turned 30 years.

Ronaldo added a fourth in the 61st minute by firing onto a through ball and tucking home the rebound after his initial strike was kept out.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner joined Al Nassr in December, reportedly on a salary of £177m per year.

Ronaldo scored 311 times in La Liga for Real Madrid, netted 81 goals in Serie A for Juventus, managed three in the Portuguese top flight for his first professional club, Sporting Lisbon, and scored 103 league goals across two spells at Manchester United.

Ronaldo now has five goals in his last two matches. His four goals ensured Al Nassr returned to the top of the Saudi Pro League on goal difference and with a game in hand on second-placed Al Shabab.