Cristiano Ronaldo will report for World Cup duty fresh from winning his first major trophy since moving to Saudi Arabia in 2022, after Al-Nassr became Saudi Pro League champions last Thursday. That’s the good news for Portugal’s coach, Roberto Martínez, but there is more to think about when it comes to his biggest name.
Although the domestic season ended all smiles for Ronaldo, five days earlier there was much doom and gloom around his club. Al-Nassr lost the final of the AFC Champions League Two, Asia’s Europa League, to Gamba Osaka of Japan. It was a poor performance and Ronaldo came in for special criticism. Not only did clips of his lack of movement, lack of pressing, missed chances and blocked shots circulate on social media, there was disappointment that, almost as soon as the final whistle went, he left the field, missing the medals’ and trophy presentations.
It was hardly the behaviour of a model professional supposed to be the face of football in Saudi Arabia. Rarely had opinion in the country been so negative and it may have made for worrying reading for Martínez.
“The team’s interest should come above everything else, and [Al-Nassr’s coach Jorge] Jesus has been favouring Ronaldo since the start of the season,” the club’s former defender Hussein Abdulghani said. “He is a burden on the team and only scores from set pieces.
“Ronaldo is playing due to favouritism and offers nothing. He has too much control over the team, but he should be substituted if he is far from his best level.”
More and more this season he has not been at his best. But then, five days after the cup defeat, when the Saudi Pro League was on the line and there were nerves and tension around Al-Nassr’s Alawwal Stadium, Ronaldo stepped up and showed he can still produce when the pressure is on.
It was the final game of the season and Al-Nassr’s first title since 2019 was in sight, but they were wobbling. Needing to win against Damac, it was looking pretty good when, early in the second half, Kingsley Coman added to Sadio Mané’s opener to make it 2-0. But Damac pulled a goal back just before the hour, almost scored again moments later and the nerves were back.
To understand why it became so tense, go back nine days to when Al-Nassr threw away a chance to secure the title in the penultimate game. This was the big one, a home match against Al-Hilal, bitter rivals and, more importantly, the team in second place. Al-Hilal are the more successful club with 19 league titles, play with a relentlessness that means you can never write them off and tend to get the better of their neighbours.
A win would have been delicious for Al-Nassr and might have erased a mental block. They were leading 1-0 when Ronaldo was taken off with eight minutes remaining and celebrations were starting. After eight minutes of injury time, the stadium was ready to erupt and he was on the bench with a smile that was starting to grow as big as his trophy collection, which includes seven league titles won in England, Spain and Italy.
Al-Hilal, coached by Simone Inzaghi, had not lost all season, but were not in this one. Al-Nassr had nine fingers on the trophy in the 98th minute when their goalkeeper, Bento, came out to get nine fingers on a hopeful long throw-in and collided with a defender. The ball was in the net and the game was over (and so was the World Cup hopes for the Brazilian, who had been in recent squads, but was left out of the list named less than a week later).
Al-Nassr were two points clear going into the final fixture, but when Damac scored, memories of the Al-Hilal game came flooding back. Then, shortly after the hour, Al-Nassr got a free-kick on the left, just outside the area and level with the penalty spot, and Ronaldo curled it home through a crowded area. It was not his most spectacular set-piece goal, but it was one of his most important.
With 10 minutes remaining he fell on a loose ball and lashed a shot high into the net. This time the celebrations started. As he returned to the kick-off, Ronaldo was fighting to keep the tears from flowing. Here was, at last, his first big trophy in Saudi Arabia.
The late double took his league tally to 28, but he was not named player of the season. Ronaldo is still the face of the SPL, but all know he is not the best player. That award went to his teammate João Félix, who has been consistently excellent since arriving from Chelsea and has gradually taken over free-kick duties from his elder compatriot. If Ronaldo can be as accommodating this summer then the pair may be celebrating again at the World Cup.