Benzema scores hat trick on Al Hilal debut, adding salt to Ronaldo’s wounds on his birthday

Karim Benzema has poured salt into Cristiano Ronaldo's wounds with a stunning debut performance for Al Hilal, despite the Portuguese star's reported attempts to prevent the controversial transfer.

The 38-year-old former Real Madrid striker wasted no time making his mark after his deadline day switch from Al Ittihad, netting a brilliant hat trick as Al Hilal demolished Al Okhdood 6-0 on Thursday. Ironically, this has happened on Cristiano's birthday as well. Apart from Benzema's hatrick, Salem Al Dawsari scored a brace and Malcom added another one. The new front three clicked within no time.

Benzema's move to the Saudi Pro League leaders was anything but straightforward. The transfer was initially blocked by the Saudi Ministry of Sports and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) before being pushed through on deadline day – much to Ronaldo's apparent dismay.

According to multiple reports, the Al Nassr captain was deeply unhappy with PIF's lack of support towards his club while simultaneously strengthening their title rivals. Ronaldo's frustration reportedly ran so deep that he refused to take the pitch for Al Nassr on Monday in protest.

The Portuguese superstar has since returned to training, but reports indicate he will not feature in Friday's match against Al Ittihad. In response to the controversy, the Saudi Pro League released a statement emphasizing that no player is bigger than the club.

But Benzema answered any doubters with a clinical display that showed exactly why Al Hilal were so determined to sign him. The French international opened his account after just 31 minutes with a clever back-heeled finish, before adding two more goals in quick succession in the second half – a composed side-footed effort in the 60th minute and a close-range strike four minutes later to seal his hat trick.

The emphatic victory extends Al Hilal's lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League to three points over Al Ahli, with Ronaldo's Al Nassr sitting a further point behind, albeit with a game in hand.

Also, Ivan Toney scored again for Al Ahli in their win 2-0 win against Al Hazem and extended his lead in the golden-boot race. Toney currently has 19 goals whereas Ronaldo's tally stands at 17.