'It gives me motivation' - Al Somah, Hamdallah locked in all-time battle

'It gives me motivation' - Al Somah, Hamdallah locked in all-time battle

Although neither are challenging for golden-boot honours this season, there remains an attention-grabbing race between Roshn Saudi League legends Omar Al Somah and Abderrazak Hamdallah.

Both have long ago cemented their place among the greats of the Saudi Arabian top flight, and not simply because they’re the two of three players in the Pro League era to land three top-scorer awards (Cristiano Ronaldo is attempting to emulate that this season).

No, Al Somah and Hamdallah continue to duke it out in the all-time stakes. For they exist as the RSL’s top two scorers in history: Al Somah in pole with 160 goals, while Hamdallah lies five back.

Now at Al Hazem, Al Somah is the more recent of the pair to extend his haul, since the Syrian striker netted last time out, in his club’s 2-0 home win against Al Fayha.

Hamdallah, meanwhile, added to his tally only six days before, notching the opener in Al Shabab’s 1-1 draw in the derby at Al Riyadh. Indeed, despite this injury-interrupted season, the Moroccan has four goals in his past six RSL outings.

So, can Hamdallah catch his all-time foe across these final six rounds of 2025-26? Well, that quest resumes on Tuesday night, in Al Shabab’s trip to title-chasing Al Qadsiah.

For Al Somah, and even having turned 37 last month, the rivalry is used to drive him on.

“Of course - the number is important for me and for Abderrazak,” Al Somah said following Saturday’s strike against Al Fayha. “Honestly, this competition gives me a lot of motivation; I will focus more. I think this applies to Abderrazak also.

“Abderrazak is a great player and a goalscorer; I'm one of the people who likes him. I wish him good luck. If I continue, we both deserve this competition.”