Soufiane Rahimi: Al Ain's New All-Time Asian Scorer

Soufiane Rahimi did not just score against Al Nassr. He rewrote a chapter of Al Ain’s history.

On a night when Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence usually sucks in every camera at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, it was the Moroccan forward who owned the spotlight, steering Al Ain’s 4-0 demolition job in their AFC Champions League Elite opener and stepping out alone as the club’s greatest scorer in Asian competition.

Rahimi steps out of Gyan’s shadow

Rahimi began the evening locked on 18 continental goals for Al Ain, level with two giants of the club’s modern era: Asamoah Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman. That number had long been a symbol of Gyan’s explosive spell in the UAE, a benchmark for any forward daring to follow.

One clean strike changed everything.

His goal against Al Nassr pushed him to 19 in Asian club competitions, lifting him clear of Gyan and Abdulrahman and making him Al Ain’s outright all-time leading scorer on the continental stage. No more sharing. No more asterisk. The record is his.

For years, Gyan’s tally represented the golden standard, the measure of what an Al Ain striker could be on the biggest stage outside domestic football. He had carried the club deep into Asia, his goals and charisma turning him into a cult figure in the Emirates. Abdulrahman, the homegrown maestro, added his own chapter, threading chances and chipping in with crucial strikes.

Now, Rahimi’s name sits above them both in the record books.

A landmark goal on a statement night

The context made the moment even heavier. This was not a dead rubber or a routine group game against modest opposition. This was Al Nassr, one of the region’s most star-studded sides, with Ronaldo leading the line and expectation following him everywhere.

Al Ain didn’t just beat them. They overwhelmed them.

Rahimi’s record-breaking goal arrived as part of a ruthless 4-0 victory that sent a clear message at the start of the AFC Champions League Elite campaign: the defending champions are not easing off. The Moroccan, now 30, has grown into the heartbeat of their continental push, a forward who thrives when the lights are brightest and the stakes are highest.

Each of his 19 goals has carried weight, but this one came wrapped in symbolism. It was not simply about passing Gyan and Abdulrahman; it underlined how central Rahimi has become to the club’s identity in Asia.

The new face of Al Ain in Asia

Rahimi’s rise has mirrored Al Ain’s recent resurgence on the continental stage. Season by season, his influence has swelled, his goals driving the Emirati club’s ambitions and culminating in the AFC Champions League title in 2023/24.

With Gyan now retired and Abdulrahman no longer part of the squad, the responsibility has shifted. Rahimi is no longer the man chasing history; he is the standard others must now chase. Every match from here on stretches the gap between him and the legends he has just overtaken.

Al Ain’s dominant start to this new Elite campaign hints at another deep run. If that happens, the Moroccan’s tally will not stop at 19. The record he has just claimed may soon look modest next to the final number he posts in purple.

Gyan’s mark once framed what was possible for an Al Ain striker in Asia. Rahimi has just broken through that frame. The question now is not whether anyone can catch him.

It is how far he can pull away.