Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr in January 2023 after leaving Manchester United for the 2nd time. It seemed that with the appearance of himself and blockbuster contracts brought to Al Nassr, CR7 would easily dominate the "Top 5 world" tournament. However, it took nearly 4 years for Ronaldo to reach glory, after defeats against Al Ittihad and Al Hilal.
Nearly 4 years is a very long time, from being expected, fans sometimes became so discouraged that they considered CR7's arrival in Saudi Arabia a mistake and no longer waiting for him to win the SPL championship.
After losing the victory against Al Hilal when the match was only 10 seconds away, Al Nassr still had the right to decide the championship, but they were forced to beat Damac in the final round. Although they could decide for themselves, after drawing with Al Hilal, a bad scenario was again associated when Al Nassr could not beat Damac because the opponent was forced to get points to secure relegation. Not long before that, Al Nassr also lost miserably to Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Two final, causing everyone to question their real ability to win the championship.
In the match against Al Hilal, Ronaldo sat blankly in the technical area when Bento made a silly mistake in the last seconds against Al Hilal. He seemed to have cried and quietly walked into the tunnel. In the match early this morning, Ronaldo also cried but it was tears of happiness, after he took a divine free kick from a narrow angle to defeat his opponent.
Ronaldo is a superstar. His legacy and influence on this tournament are undeniable. He is not just a simple player but also a big name, a global brand. Not only that, Ronaldo is also about to reach the milestone of 1,000 goals in his career. I hope he will continue to play at SPL for many more years, not just until his contract expires in 2027" - Jesus Arroyo, advisor to the CEO of SPL shared.
Recalling the early days of being contacted by Saudi Arabian football, when Al Hilal was the most anticipated destination for CR7. In the end, he chose Al Nassr and failed twice against Al Hilal in the championship race. Al Hilal at that time had 21 SPL titles and 4 AFC Champions League titles. Ronaldo could completely go there and continue to dominate continuously, but he refused.
In the years that followed, Al Nassr and Al Hilal seemed to enter an "armed race" in the transfer market. A series of stars arrived at both teams, but the losing part in the races always belonged to Al Nassr. It was not until captain Jorge Jesus appeared to replace Stefano Pioli that bad luck did not follow Al Nassr anymore.
Jorge Jesus is likened to "King Midas" when he continuously brings titles to the teams he leads. Before coming to Al Nassr, Jesus worked for Al Hilal itself and helped this team win the championship. Ronaldo convinced his compatriot coach to come to Al Nassr and in his first season, the 71-year-old coach helped Ronaldo's team win the SPL championship.
If it weren't for his invitation, I wouldn't have come here" - Jesus answered in an interview last week.
This season, Al Nassr has been involved in many social media rumors related to suspicion of being favored by referees. Last April, Al Ahli was denied 2 penalty kicks in the match against Al Fayha, thereby no longer having the ability to compete for the championship.
Midfielder Gelano of this team was even angry and wrote on X: "Give them the cup (Al Nassr), that's what everyone wants. They are trying to eliminate Al Ahli from the race at all costs and only want to give the cup to 1 person (Ronaldo). This is disrespectful to us".
Leaving behind the side stories, after this championship, if Ronaldo is still attached to Al Nassr, he must prepare himself to face more strong opponents. In addition to Al Hilal, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad, next season is expected to have Al Qadsiah's presence in the championship race with new captain Brendan Rodgers.
