Soufiane Rahimi Becomes Al Ain's All-Time Leading Scorer in Asia

Soufiane Rahimi did not just score in Asia on Tuesday night. He rewrote a chapter of Al Ain history.

At the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, in a statement 4-0 win over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in their AFC Champions League Elite opener, the Moroccan forward struck the goal that pushed him past Asamoah Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman to stand alone as the club’s most prolific scorer in Asian competition.

Rahimi steps out of Gyan’s shadow

Rahimi started the night locked on 18 continental goals, level with two of the most iconic names to wear Al Ain colours. One more would move him clear. Against this level of opposition, on this kind of stage, it felt like the moment was coming.

The pressure finally told. His finish against Al Nassr took him to 19 goals in Asian club competitions for Al Ain, giving the 30-year-old outright ownership of a record that Gyan had long held or shared.

For years, the Ghanaian’s tally had been the benchmark for Al Ain’s ambitions beyond the UAE, a symbol of the club’s golden attacking era. Abdulrahman, the local superstar playmaker, shared that mark. Now both watch from distance: Gyan retired from professional football, Abdulrahman no longer in the squad.

Rahimi has stepped into that space and claimed it as his own.

A new leading man for Al Ain in Asia

This is not a sudden rise. Rahimi has grown season by season into Al Ain’s reference point on the continental stage, turning key nights in Asia into his personal platform. His goals have underpinned the club’s push across the region and helped drive the Emirati side to the AFC Champions League title in the 2023/24 campaign.

Now, with the new AFC Champions League Elite season underway and Al Ain announcing themselves with a ruthless 4-0 dismantling of Al Nassr, his influence feels even heavier. The gap to those behind him will only widen if he maintains this rhythm.

The record is no longer shared. It is Rahimi’s alone. And with Al Ain again shaping up as serious contenders, the question is no longer whether he will add to his tally, but how far he can push it.

Gyan’s legacy, Rahimi’s era

Gyan’s scoring feats once defined what was possible for an Al Ain striker in Asia. His goals, his charisma, his presence in that famous purple shirt made him a reference point for every forward who followed.

Rahimi’s 19th continental goal does not erase that legacy. It builds on it. It marks a new chapter in which the Moroccan, not the Ghanaian, sits at the top of the club’s Asian scoring charts.

Records, though, rarely stand still. Gyan’s eventually fell. Now Rahimi owns it. The rest of Asia will decide how long he keeps it.