Al-Nassr may well consider themselves as the pioneers that allowed the Saudi Pro League to be where it is at.
They can attract players of European pedigree to a league that is arguably not even in the top 10 leagues in the world and it seems likely the decision-makers in the division would agree with that statement.
When Cristiano Ronaldo had his contract at Manchester United ripped up following an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, the clubs lining up to take the Portuguese icon were, truth be told, non-existent. Ronaldo said in that interview he wanted a move to a Champions League club but none were forthcoming, in came Al-Nassr.
The Saudi club offered Ronaldo, according to Marca, £154 million a year to sign for the club, and the striker duly accepted and has really become the face of the country’s assault into the footballing sphere. In a sense, the name matters more than how well the Portuguese icon does.
The name Ronaldo will always drive fanfare and eyes which is exactly what the league wants, and with 14 goals in 19 games for the Saudi side, he has made a good impact which makes the deal even better for the division.
Al-Nassr fact file
The Saudi side are part of the PIF umbrella, alongside three other sides in the division. They play their home games at Al-Awwal Park, which has a capacity of 25,000.
Their manager is Luis Castro, who previously managed Porto in 2014 and Shakhtar Donetsk in 2021. They have signed a raft of new players to play alongside the Portuguese frontman. They have signed Alex Telles from United, Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan, and Seko Fofana from RC Lens.
Despite the illustrious signing of Ronaldo, Al-Nassr finished second in the league, five points behind Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad. The hope will be that these new signings will help Al-Nassr compete with Al-Ittihad and wrestle back their league title.
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