Former Al-Nassr manager Rudi Garcia once likened Cristiano Ronaldo’s lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League to Pele’s transfer to New York Cosmos in 1975.
He believed the Portuguese superstar could bring the same exposure to the Saudi Pro League as Pele’s transfer did to grow football in America.
There’s no doubt that he was right when it comes to Ronaldo. The 39-year-old’s big money move to the Middle East was perhaps a catalyst that saw many other big names from around the footballing world follow him to Saudi Arabia.
But while the ex-Man United star has won pretty much everything in his glittering career, it seems one title is currently evading him – the Saudi Pro League.
His wait to win the title could be prolonged a little longer too – with league rivals Al-Hilal currently 12 points clear at the top of the standings with four games to go. That means it’ll be the second season in a row that Al-Nassr and Ronaldo have missed out on winning the league – having finished as runners-up to Al-Ittihad last season.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr look set to miss out on winning the Saudi Pro League this season
Some likened Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia to Pele’s move to New York Cosmos in 1975
But it seems Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr will come up short to Al-Hilal in the race for the league title (pictured – Al-Hilal winning the Saudi Super Cup Final)
The 39-year-old might be kicking himself a little more this time around, too, noting that he has scored a whopping 32 goals in 27 league games to go streaks ahead of his nearest challenger, Aleksandar Mitrovic, at the summit of the league’s top scorers chart.
Despite all the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s brilliance, there’s no denying Al-Hilal deserve to pick up the trophy this year – which would be their fourth league title since 2020 and second trophy this season, after winning the Saudi Super Cup last month.
Their dominance is plain to see, with Jorge Jesus’ side sitting pretty at the top of the Saudi Pro League standings and have quite remarkably stayed there for the last 26 matchdays.
In fact, Al-Hilal are unbeaten in the league this season, having only dropped points twice in the early stages of their league campaign after they drew 1-1 to both Al-Fayha and Damac in August and September.
They have broken records this season too. Jesus’ side secured their 28th consecutive win on Friday, with Mitrovic scoring to help his side seal a 3-0 victory against Al-Taawoun.
The result saw them surpass the record for the most consecutive wins ever amassed by a professional football team, outdoing Welsh Premier side, The New Saints’ record of 27 games, which was set in 2016.
‘Everyone at Al-Hilal is delighted to achieve world football history by winning 28 consecutive matches,’ Al-Hilal boss Jesus said.
‘This is truly an incredible achievement and I want to thank everyone at the club for their part in this momentous winning record.’
That comes after the ex-Man United star’s excellent season, scoring 32 goals in the league
Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has implored his side to continue their dominance to win the league
Al-Hilal have gone 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League standings
For Ronaldo, part of their success has perhaps only heightened their rivalry on the pitch.
Ronaldo lost his temper in Al-Nassr’s recent 2-1 defeat by Al-Hilal after he elbowed Ali Al-Bulaihi in the face and was sent off. He had also appeared to rub an Al-Hilal shirt on his crotch following their 2-0 defeat by their rivals in February.
The forward had also fumed after his side were thrashed 3-0 by Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League at the start of the year, wagging his finger at fans who chanted ‘Messi’ at him as he stormed off the pitch.
It’s been a period of pure domination from Al-Hilal and what is perhaps even more telling of their excellent run of form is that they’ve done it all without their star man Neymar.
The Brazilian joined the club last August in a bumper £78million switch from Paris Saint-Germain. The club, who are backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), agreed a deal worth £130m-per-year with the former Barcelona star – who followed a string of top players to the Middle East, including Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane and Ronaldo himself.
Neymar has not featured for Al-Hilal since he tore his anterior cruciate ligaments in October last year and has only played only three games since joining. He is not expected to return until later this summer.
Despite his absence, Al-Hilal’s dominance this season follows their splurge in last summer’s transfer window which saw the Saudi side spend approximately £300m on new players and some big names to boot.
Perhaps their biggest coup was the signing of Mitrovic, who left Fulham for a record £46m transfer fee and has gone on to score 24 goals this season putting him second behind Ronaldo in the League’s Golden Boot race.
Koulibaly’s centre back partner Ali Al-Bulaihi was notably elbowed by Ronaldo earlier this year
Ronaldo appeared unhappy as he wagged a finger while walking towards the tunnel – blowing kisses at fans who chanted for Lionel Messi
Their dominance has come even without star summer signing Neymar who has been injured
Neymar suffered a ruptured ACL and a meniscus tear in October that has left him sidelined
Aleksander Mitrovic has scored 24 goals for Al-Hilal in the league so far this season
While fans of the Premier League will all know about the Serbian’s clinical finishing, Mitrovic has, quite frankly, been tearing it up in Saudi Arabia – notably going on a hot streak in the middle of the season that saw him score in 11 consecutive matches.
While he has been a real source of their firepower, he was recently sidelined for three matches with a soft tissue injury and it appears Al-Hilal didn’t miss him all too much, with his side going on to beat Al-Okhdood 3-0, Al-Khaleej 4-1 and Al-Fateh 3-1.
Former Barcelona winger Malcom, another of their summer signings, stepped up in his absence, scoring during the latter two of those matches, to add to his 14-goal haul in the league, while midfielder Salem Al-Dawsari trails him on 13 goals in the league this season.
Ruben Neves was another star name to join the club after the 26-year-old’s shock £47m move to the club from Wolves.
He too has played a huge part in their success, returning 11 assists this season across the 29 league games he has featured in – putting him joint-first in the league’s top assist makers.
Alongside fellow newcomer and former Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the pair have bossed opposition teams from midfield, with the latter also returning 11 goals.
Interestingly, Neves could have made a quick return to the Premier League in January, with the midfielder being heavily linked with a move to Newcastle, a move which he subsequently distanced himself from.
While Al-Hilal have not lacked for goals, they’ve also been very impressive defensively, with another of their new signings, Yassine Bounou, who joined from Sevilla for £18m, currently sitting top of the league’s clean sheet rankings.
Former Barcelona star Malcom has also impressed having arrived at the club last summer
Ex-Wolves star Ruben Neves has been a creative genius for Al-Hilal in midfield this season
Defensively, Kalidou Koulibaly has been imperative to helping Al-Hilal concede only 19 goals
Rather astonishingly the 33-year-old has only conceded 19 goals in the league during the 2023-24 campaign.
For context, Steven Gerrard’s side are the next-best team in the league when it comes to goals against stats, with Al-Ettifaq conceding 32 times.
He has been helped by having a group of resolute defenders in front of him this season that has been fronted by the experienced former Chelsea and Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly who joined the club this summer.
Partnered by the towering Ali Al-Bulaihi the pair have bullied attackers all year. And flanked by pacey full-backs Mohammed Al-Burayk, Saud Abdulhamid and Yasser Al-Shahrani, teams have struggled to score against them this season.
While Al-Hilal already have a brimming trophy cabinet, the club’s acquisitions and spending at the start of the season has no doubt seen them grow from being a good side to a great side.
And they aren’t the only club to have splashed the cash, with Al-Nassr investing in Sadio Mane, Otavio, Ayermic Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic for a combined £150m.
But they still have to close out the remainder of the season, and as with everything in football, anything can happen.
‘As I have said throughout this period, however, records do not matter as much as trophies,’ Jesus said.
Yassine Bounou has conceded only 19 goals this season and has the most assists in the league
But Ronaldo can still claim silverware this season if his side defeat Al-Hilal in the final of the King’s Cup
‘It is up to everyone at Al Hilal to ensure that we close out the season as Roshn Saudi League champions and meet our targets in the cup competitions. Only then can we truly celebrate.’
While they are still due to take on relegation strugglers Al-Tai and Al-Hazm, they do face a tough grudge match against their rivals Al-Nassr and Ronaldo – who will likely be out for vengeance after he was sent off during their 2-1 defeat by Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super cup in April.
Even so, the former Real Madrid star’s sensational appetite for goals shows no sign of relenting, even with Ronaldo set to turn 40 next February. While he has got off to a slow start, by his standards at least, at Al-Nassr, if he continues to score as many goals as he does he’ll no doubt help his side seal glory soon.
Yet it appears there has been no love lost by Ronaldo towards Al-Hilal this season.