Al-Nassr, the Saudi Arabian club that recently signed Cristiano Ronaldo to a two-and-a-half-year deal, is one of the most successful clubs in the Middle East.
The 37-year-old forward was offered an incredible amount for his services – reportedly as much as $200m per year including commercial deals – and both parties were eager to get the deal over the line.
Al-Nassr has been successful in the past, winning numerous domestic and international competitions including several championships in their home country.
This recent signing only adds to their claim as one of the top football clubs in their region.
Al-Nassr’s history
Al-Nassr is a professional football team based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1955, they play in the country’s top division, the Saudi Professional League.
The Saudi Arabian side are the second-most successful Saudi team with nine SPL titles, their last win coming in 2018-19.
They have also won the King’s Cup six times and their best performance in AFC Champions League came in 1995 when they finished as runners-up.
Their home ground is Mrsool Park which has a capacity of 25,000 and their all-time top scorer is Majed Abdullah who scored 189 goals with an average of nearly one goal a game.
Al-Nassr’s coach and who is in their squad?
Manager Rudi Garcia, who most recently coached at Lille, AS Roma, Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais before taking the job at Al-Nassr in June, is now at the helm.
The club can register up to eight foreign players but only seven names can make up a matchday squad.
Some of these international talents include Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon), David Ospina (Colombia), and Luiz Gustavo (Brazil).
Aboubakar became an overnight sensation during the World Cup for his late strike against Serbia that secured a win for Cameroon in their final group game against Brazil.
Ospina has featured for prominent clubs such as Arsenal and Napoli in the past.
How are Al-Nassr currently doing?
Al-Nassr are currently performing well, sitting at the top of the league with 26 points after 11 matches, having won eight and lost just once.
Talisca, their Brazilian midfielder, is their top scorer having scored six goals so far – a joint league-high.
If Al-Nassr wish to qualify for the group stage of the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, they must win the league this season.
Furthermore, teams in next season’s AFC Champions League will be able to field up to six foreign players in their starting line-ups, with at least one from another Asian nation.
What Ronaldo can bring to Al-Nassr?
Cristiano Ronaldo has established himself as one of the all-time top scorers in football, with more than 700 goals in club football and over 100 strikes in international games.
In recent years, he has shown he can still excel at the highest level after topping the scoring charts last season at Manchester United and notching 3 goals this season before his move to Qatar.
His experience on the biggest stages won’t be overlooked by Al-Nassr either, having become the first player to score in five World Cups.
With Al-Nassr already showing great form with 25 goals from 11 matches, there’s no doubt that Ronaldo can add even more firepower to their attack.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
