The Netflix platform has released a documentary about the Saudi League: ‘Saudi Pro League: A New Era’. One of the protagonists is Cristiano Ronaldo, who in January 2023 landed in the Asian country, at Al Nassr, to live a new stage as a professional footballer, possibly his last at club level.
Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Saudi Arabia after his second spell at Manchester United. The Portuguese left the English club due to his limited role in Erik ten Hag’s scheme and his bad relationship with the Dutch coach. Once the 2022 World Cup in Qatar ended, he landed in the ranks of Al Nassr, where he continues to this day.
I came to win, to improve the league. I want to leave a legacy
Cristiano Ronaldo on his arrival to the Saudi Pro League
Cristiano Ronaldo himself states in this documentary that he still has the same passion for football that he has always had, and that his objective with signing for Al Nassr was to leave a legacy: “I came to win, to improve the league. I want to leave “A legacy. That’s what I want. They say I’m done, that I’m only here for the money… They still don’t believe it, but I’m here to win.”
It is evident that Cristiano Ronaldo has opened the door for great players to land in the Saudi Pro League, considerably improving its level. In Al Hilal, a club to beat in Arabia, there are players like Bono, Joao Cancelo, Renan Lodi, Koulibaly, Milinkovic Savic, Rubén Neves, Mitrovic and Neymar, who has not had enough minutes due to a serious knee injury. In Al Ittihad, there are footballers of the stature of Kanté, Fabinho, Aouar, Moussa Diaby and Karim Benzema, who arrived a year after winning the Ballon d’Or. Another of the powerful clubs is Al Ahli, with Edouard Mendy, Kessié , Gabri Veiga, Mahrez, Firmino and Ivan Toney.
Since his arrival at Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo has played 79 games where he has scored 68 goals and given 18 assists. Furthermore, in the 2023-24 season he was the top scorer of the year (also counting his goals with the national team) with 57 goals. In his current club, he is sharing a dressing room with great footballers such as Laporte, Brozovic, Otavio and Sadio Mané, with whom he will seek to expand his record as a professional footballer and end the Al Hilal dynasty, a team to beat in recent years in Saudi Arabia .
Cristiano Ronaldo with the shirt that Al Nassr gave him for his 900 goals as a professionalMARCA
At 39 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo wants to continue breaking records, and the next one is to reach 1,000 goals, something that seems very complicated since, as he himself commented after his team’s victory against Poland (5-1) He plans to retire in one or two years: “If it has to happen, in one or two years, I don’t know. I’ll be 40 soon.” With his double against the Poles, the Portuguese has 910 goals, so that number of goals seems like a utopia right now.
