Cristiano Ronaldo has won many accolades over his storied career.
He has earned five Ballon d'Or awards for the best player in the world and has won five Champions League titles—four with Real Madrid in Spain and one with Manchester United in England.
Now, Ronaldo is looking to lead Al-Nassr to its first Saudi Pro League title since joining the club in 2022. Last season, Al-Nassr, the 18-time Saudi champions, finished in second place with 82 points behind Al-Hilal, which finished with 96 points.
Al-Hilal has already maintained that edge this season with a 4-1 victory over Al-Nassr in the Saudi Super Cup final on Aug. 17. Ronaldo scored Al-Nassr’s only goal in the 44th minute.
The 18-team Saudi Pro League begins its regular season on Aug. 22, and Ronaldo wants to bring home the title despite the latest setback to Al-Hilal.
Al-Nassr boosted its lineup with goalkeeper Bento, who plays for the Brazilian national Team. Ronaldo will get support from fellow forward Sadio Mane, who is also a member of the Senegal National Team and previously played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Marcelo Brozovic, a Croatian national, helps control the midfield, and Aymeric Laporte will lead the defense after helping Spain win Euro 2024 this summer in Germany.
However, much of Al-Nassr’s success could hinge on the scoring prowess of Ronaldo, who is playing outside of Europe for the first time in his career.
And scoring goals is what Ronaldo does best.
Over his 23-year career, Ronaldo has scored 897 goals with four other teams, including Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus. He is the first player to be the top scorer in four different leagues—the English Premier League, Serie A in Italy, La Liga in Spain, and the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo had a circuitous route to the Saudi League, which began at age 16 in his native Portugal and spanned five countries.
Ronaldo was sold to Manchester United in 2003 and began to make his mark in European soccer. He scored 42 goals in his first season for The Red Devils, earning the Golden Shoe award as Europe’s leading scorer. He was also a key player in United’s run to a Champions League title in 2008.
Ronaldo was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the 2007–08 season.
Manchester United sold Ronaldo to Real Madrid in Spain for $131 million in 2009. He responded by scoring 40 goals in his first season—the most in La Liga history at the time. He also helped Real Madrid with the La Liga championship in 2011-12 and won his second FIFA World Player of the Year the following season. Ronaldo then led Real Madrid to four Champions League titles in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Overall, he has 311 goals in 292 matches for Real Madrid.
In July 2018, Ronaldo signed a four-year, $132 million contract with Juventus in Italy and scored 28 goals in his first season. The following year, Ronaldo helped Juventus win the Serie A title, the 2020 Supercoppa Italiana, and the 2021 Coppa Italia Final.
In 2021, he re-signed with Manchester United but could not recapture his former success, which prompted the move to Saudi Arabia.
Winning the Saudi Pro League title would be another milestone in his illustrious career.
However, Al-Hilal is standing in the way once again.
