Soufiane Rahimi Breaks Al Ain Scoring Record in AFC Champions League

Soufiane Rahimi stepped out of Asamoah Gyan’s shadow in the most emphatic way possible – under the floodlights, against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, and with Hazza bin Zayed Stadium roaring him into club history.

A record falls on a statement night

Al Ain’s 4-0 demolition of Al Nassr in their AFC Champions League Elite opener was already a statement to the rest of Asia. For Rahimi, it was something more personal. One clean finish, one swing of his boot, and a record that had belonged to Gyan – and been shared with Omar Abdulrahman – was gone.

He started the night locked on 18 continental goals for Al Ain, level with two of the club’s most iconic names. He ended it on 19, standing alone as Al Ain’s all-time leading scorer in Asian club competitions.

No controversy. No confusion. Just a decisive strike that pushed him clear.

Passing giants of Al Ain

For years, Gyan’s tally had been the reference point for any Al Ain forward with continental ambitions. The Ghanaian’s prolific spell in the UAE turned him into a cult hero, his goals a symbol of the club’s reach beyond domestic football.

Abdulrahman, the gifted playmaker who defined an era for Al Ain, shared that mark, his own contributions etched into the club’s modern identity.

Rahimi has now moved past both.

The Moroccan international, 30, has quietly built his legacy season after season. While Gyan has retired and Abdulrahman has moved on, Rahimi has taken the responsibility and the pressure and turned them into goals. Nineteen of them now, and counting.

The new face of Al Ain in Asia

This is not a one-off purple patch. Rahimi has grown into Al Ain’s driving force on the continental stage, a player who shapes big nights rather than simply appears in them.

His influence was central to the club’s triumphant 2023/24 AFC Champions League campaign, and the way Al Ain brushed aside Al Nassr suggests that run was no anomaly. A 4-0 win over a side led by Ronaldo does more than send a message; it underlines that Al Ain intend to stay among Asia’s elite.

Rahimi sits at the heart of that ambition. He is no longer just a key attacker. He is now the man whose numbers define what success looks like for Al Ain in Asia.

A new benchmark

Gyan’s record had stood as a benchmark of excellence, a reminder of how high a bar a foreign forward could set in the UAE. Rahimi’s 19th goal doesn’t erase that legacy; it builds on it, carving out a new chapter in the club’s continental story.

With the AFC Champions League Elite campaign only just underway, the question is no longer whether Rahimi can catch the greats of Al Ain’s past.

It’s how far ahead of them he intends to finish.