Soufiane Rahimi Makes History for Al Ain in AFC Champions League

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

On a charged night at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, the Moroccan forward struck in a 4-0 demolition of Cristiano Ronaldo’s side in the AFC Champions League Elite opener, a goal that carried far more weight than the scoreline alone. With that finish, Rahimi moved to 19 goals in Asian club competitions for Al Ain, stepping past Asamoah Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman to stand alone as the club’s all-time leading scorer on the continent.

Rahimi steps out of Gyan’s shadow

Rahimi came into the tie locked on 18 goals, level with two of the most iconic names in Al Ain’s modern history. Gyan, the Ghanaian star whose prolific spell in the UAE turned him into a cult hero, had long set the standard. Abdulrahman, the homegrown maestro, shared that mark and the symbolism that came with it.

One strike changed everything.

When Rahimi found the net against Al Nassr, he did more than nudge Al Ain ahead in a group-stage fixture. He pushed himself clear at the top of the club’s Asian scoring charts, taking “Gyan’s record” and making it his own. The number is simple: 19. The context is not. It represents seasons of consistent output in high-stakes continental nights, the kind of reliability that defines a club’s era.

Gyan, now retired from professional football, had held or shared the benchmark for years. Abdulrahman is no longer in the squad. The torch has passed, and it now burns at Rahimi’s feet.

A new leading man for Al Ain in Asia

Rahimi’s rise has not been sudden. Over recent campaigns he has grown into Al Ain’s reference point in Asian competition, the player opponents circle on the teamsheet and the one his teammates look for when the game tightens.

His influence was already evident in the 2023/24 season, when he played a central role in the club’s charge to continental glory. The 4-0 statement against Al Nassr underlined that Al Ain are not treating that triumph as a one-off. They look like contenders again, and their No. 19 is driving the charge.

Every match in this new AFC Champions League Elite campaign now doubles as another chance for Rahimi to stretch the record, to turn 19 into something far more distant and daunting for whoever comes next. The gap between his tally and those of Gyan and Abdulrahman will only widen if he maintains this rhythm.

For years, Gyan’s total stood as a symbol of Al Ain’s ambition in Asia, a reminder of the levels required to compete with the continent’s best. Rahimi has met that standard and stepped beyond it. The record no longer belongs to the past; it belongs to the present.

And with Al Ain still hunting more continental success, the real question is not how Rahimi caught Gyan. It’s how far he intends to pull away.