Soufiane Rahimi Becomes Al Ain's All-Time Leading Scorer in Asia
Soufiane Rahimi stepped out of Asamoah Gyan’s shadow in the most emphatic way possible – by scoring in a 4-0 demolition of Al Nassr and rewriting Al Ain’s record books under the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium lights.
One swing of his boot. One goal. One historic shift.
The Moroccan forward’s strike in Al Ain’s AFC Champions League Elite opener moved him to 19 goals in Asian club competitions for the Emirati side, taking him clear of Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman and making him the club’s outright all-time leading scorer on the continent.
Rahimi passes Gyan and Abdulrahman
Rahimi started the night locked on 18 goals, level with two of the most iconic names in Al Ain’s modern history. Gyan, the Ghanaian great whose goals once powered Al Ain’s continental ambitions. Abdulrahman, the playmaker who came to symbolise the club’s golden era.
By the time the final whistle blew on Tuesday, September 15, Rahimi stood alone.
His finish against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr did more than cap a statement 4-0 win. It nudged him past Gyan and Abdulrahman, giving the 30-year-old sole ownership of a record that had long seemed welded to the Ghanaian’s name.
For years, Gyan’s tally had been the benchmark, a reminder of a prolific spell in the UAE that helped define Al Ain’s status in Asia. Now, with the former Ghana captain retired and Abdulrahman no longer in the squad, the mantle has shifted decisively.
It belongs to Rahimi.
A new leading man in Asia
This was not a bolt from the blue. Rahimi has steadily tightened his grip on Al Ain’s big continental nights, season after season, goal after goal. His influence has grown with the club’s ambitions, his numbers rising as Al Ain reassert themselves among Asia’s elite.
The rout of Al Nassr underlined that intent. A 4-0 win over one of the region’s most high-profile sides sent a clear message: Al Ain are not easing off after lifting the AFC Champions League in the 2023/24 campaign. They are coming back to defend, to challenge, to stay at the sharp end.
At the heart of that push stands Rahimi, now statistically the most dangerous Al Ain player Asia has seen.
His 19-goal haul does more than top a chart. It stretches a gap that he now has every chance to widen as the AFC Champions League Elite campaign unfolds. Each match offers another opportunity to pull further clear of Gyan and Abdulrahman, to turn a broken record into a distant memory.
Gyan’s legacy, Rahimi’s era
Gyan’s impact on Al Ain will not fade. His goals helped set the standard, his record a target for those who followed. For a long time, it felt untouchable, a reflection of a striker who dominated defences across the continent.
Rahimi has met that standard and then gone past it.
The Moroccan’s achievement marks a fresh chapter in Al Ain’s continental story, a passing of the torch from one talisman to another. The names have changed, but the expectation has not: deliver on the biggest stage in Asia.
And now the question hangs over the rest of this campaign.
With the record already his, how far can Soufiane Rahimi push it – and how far can he drag Al Ain with him in Asia?
