Amid the chants of “Messi, Messi” in the stands, the image of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) championship also faded in Cristiano Ronaldo’s eyes. With his superior caliber, CR7 cannot bring Al Nassr to the desired destination.

Thanks to Al Nassr, Al Raed has 3 more important points to escape the bottom 3 teams in the table. It was an ironic truth when Al Nassr lost at home to an opponent that could hardly have been weaker. This defeat leaves Ronaldo and Al Nassr with almost no hope of winning the tournament this season, as they are 9 points behind top team Al Hilal and their opponents still play one match less.

Why is this so, where did Al Nassr go wrong? This question is even more difficult when not long ago, they were still very right. Al Nassr started this season with promise. They recruited many top stars from Europe, winning the Arab Champions Cup in August 2023 when Ronaldo shone.

Until the mid-season break started, Al Nassr was still bright to win 3 major titles including SL, Saudi King Cup and AFC Champions League. However, in just the first week of March, Al Nassr was in danger of overturning everything because of its unstable performance.

The decline of Al Nassr is actually not too surprising if placed in the general context. The last time the yellow shirt team won the domestic championship was in 2019. It is true that they have invested a lot of money in the past 2 years, but their opponents have not stood still.

Ronaldo is so lonely at Al Nasr

The story now only revolves around Ronaldo and the sudden decline in CR7’s career. Let’s talk a little bit about the 39-year-old player’s performance. It can be affirmed that Ronaldo is still excellent. This season, he has scored 34 goals in 37 matches, in the SPL alone, 22 goals in 21 matches. In two seasons, Ronaldo has scored 48 goals in 56 matches. If divided on average, Ronaldo still has 24 goals/season – equivalent to his first season back at MU (2021/22). 

If we only count the number of goals purely mechanically, it is clear that Ronaldo has not lost too much form, especially in the context of him getting closer and closer to the 40-year-old mark. But it’s like the fate of life, Ronaldo still plays well but his parent clubs still have no luck with the title. It’s as if Ronaldo had used up all the best and luckiest things for Real Madrid and partly Juventus, and now he’s paying back… his karma.

Coming to Al Nassr and the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo accepted to humble himself. But even with such an environment below his level, Ronaldo cannot win the biggest title. It is a pain for CR7 – who has always been a shining example for young people to follow in their desire to conquer.

Ronaldo’s goal of conquering, or more broadly, enlightening Middle Eastern football is still just a slogan. This tournament is not as easy as Ronaldo or the European public thinks. Once again, the ultimate challenge is posed and waiting for Ronaldo to conquer again.