Saudi Professional League 2023/2024

[Africolo]

Before he continues with complaining about the too much power given Ronaldo,  he should look back and tell us what the SPL was like few years back without Ronaldo,  I am not saying he should be the sole decider of how things happens in that team but at same time his influence on the team and the league as a whole is one that cannot be over looked and deserving of certain preferences because he is not just skilled and talented but experienced and influential which was gotten from hard work and most times he has influenced decisions,  it has always turned out in the favour of the team so I do not think it is so much because he has not obviously abused the power recently.

Why hating on Cristiano Ronaldo? They're not mates on any levels because Ronaldo is the G.O.A.T and have been crucially involved with the leveling up of the Saudi Pro League. We know him to be the standing pillar in SPL, he singlehandedly brought the SPL to limelight.

Ronaldo is everyone's favorite, he's been through some difficult path and still came out standing at the top. As we can say, feel so lonely at the top but not for Cristiano Ronaldo. He's not relenting despite been aged enough, watching him play on the pitch, he becomes one of the most active players. Watch and understand the fact that Ronaldo is not retiring anytime soon, he will come out succeeding and fumbling his targets.

[Sithara007]

No player should be seen as too big for a club any player that feels that he is bigger than the club should be shown the exit door because football is a team sport not an individual sport because no matter how good a player is he can't form a team on his own

I agree than an individual player is not bigger than the club, or the league as a whole. But that said, when you have an all time great player in your club, you need to treat him with respect. Ronaldo revived the prospects of Al Nassr, made the Saudi Professional League one of the most popular leagues in the world, and then played his part in Saudi Arabia winning the hosting rights for FIFA World Cup 2034. Given all this, the recently signed contract between him and Al Nassr is fair and mutually beneficial to both the sides.

[Gallar]

Al Nassr looks emptied out a bit, they really need to get some other star players to help out Ronaldo. Looking at them right now, he is feeling a bit alone, Mane didn't provide the help they thought he would, they need someone better. Plus, they still have a goalkeeper issue, have you seen the guy play? He was horrible, and as far as I know, this summer, they didn't get a new one, right? If they decide to play with him again, they are going to lose again, he concedes such simple goals, even Onana looks better than him.

Anyways I guess, this season, Al Nassr won't even be third place, they are going to battle for 4th or 5th, because other teams are doing a much better job. I see that they pay a ton to Ronaldo, so they don't have much left, but they need to do better.

You're right, I also don't understand Al nasr at the moment. Because at first glance they seem to want to be able to advance their team in order to be better next season, but in reality they don't seem too serious about it. Because as you said, Al Nasr's defense and goalkeeping problems have not been able to overcome, while next season will not be long in starting. So, with this, I think Al Nasr is really not serious about building a better team. Because until now Al Nasr has not been able to bring in a single player from Europe, and I think that is a serious problem for Al Nasr.

Because, other teams in the Saudi Arabian league, have moved quite well to bring in players. As well as Al Qadisiyah who have managed to bring in the top score of the serie a, namely Retegui and also Al Hilal has managed to bring in Theo Hernandez. So with this, how can Al Nasr compete with them if their team situation is like this.

Because, as we know Al Nasr really needs stone players who can help Ronaldo in attack and also players to strengthen his defense. And while currently Duran is also on loan by Al Nasr to another team. So with this it is clear that Al Nasr is really sure to have difficulties next season.

[Gost ms]

https://dailypost.ng/2025/07/20/no-player-should-be-given-absolute-power-al-sheikh-slams-al-nassr-over-ronaldo/
Ronaldo is known from the early days of his career to have had some level of influence on his clubs and national team. He sometimes influences the players and coaches that the club management hires. This is also the case in Al Nassr. It is believed that he was behind the sacking of coach Stefano Pioli and the replacement with Jorge Jesus. He also used his reputation to influence the sacking of the club's CEO Majed Jamaan Al-Sorour and he also made sure the club replaced him with his close friend Jose Semedo.

Former Saudi Arabian Football Federation Spokesman, Mohammed Al-Sheikh, has frowned at this excess power given to the Portuguese captain. Al-Sheikh appreciates Ronaldo's positive contributions to the SPL but he thinks that his powers should have limits.

Before he continues with complaining about the too much power given Ronaldo,  he should look back and tell us what the SPL was like few years back without Ronaldo,  I am not saying he should be the sole decider of how things happens in that team but at same time his influence on the team and the league as a whole is one that cannot be over looked and deserving of certain preferences because he is not just skilled and talented but experienced and influential which was gotten from hard work and most times he has influenced decisions,  it has always turned out in the favour of the team so I do not think it is so much because he has not obviously abused the power recently.

A person becomes the best through hard work. Because if a person does not work hard and if he does not have experience in something, then that person will never be able to become a good player. There is no doubt that Ronaldo is a very good player. Maybe the influence that Ronaldo is exerting on the subject will be good for his team, just like we see Messi, Messi accepts whatever his entire team says, no one ever questions him. Maybe he wants to see his team improve and make it the best through more hard work.

[Arenga pinnata]

You're right, I also don't understand Al nasr at the moment. Because at first glance they seem to want to be able to advance their team in order to be better next season, but in reality they don't seem too serious about it. Because as you said, Al Nasr's defense and goalkeeping problems have not been able to overcome, while next season will not be long in starting. So, with this, I think Al Nasr is really not serious about building a better team. Because until now Al Nasr has not been able to bring in a single player from Europe, and I think that is a serious problem for Al Nasr.

Because, other teams in the Saudi Arabian league, have moved quite well to bring in players. As well as Al Qadisiyah who have managed to bring in the top score of the serie a, namely Retegui and also Al Hilal has managed to bring in Theo Hernandez. So with this, how can Al Nasr compete with them if their team situation is like this.

Because, as we know Al Nasr really needs stone players who can help Ronaldo in attack and also players to strengthen his defense. And while currently Duran is also on loan by Al Nasr to another team. So with this it is clear that Al Nasr is really sure to have difficulties next season.

Well, this is another thing I don't understand about Al-Nassr. They have substantial funding, but for some reason, they haven't done much to improve their defense, which we all know is quite weak. In fact, one of the main reasons for the team's many losses isn't because they lack scoring ability, but because their defense is too easy for opponents to break through.

As far as I know, Al-Nassr has only signed two players so far, and I think they're just average players. They are Abdulmalik Al-Jaber, a central midfielder, and Nader Al-Sharari, a central defender.

[arabspaceship123]

MLS can't offer money like SPL. If Messi's after money he'll sign a mega contract with Al Ahli. He's played in Argentina Spain & America so if he wants new experiences he'll leave Inter Miami. Messi's got options to stay in Inter Miami or go to SPL.

Yeah, that was the reason why he preferred Miami, and he will stay there for a while longer I am sure. It depends on what he wants to do after he retires, like if he wants to go into coaching or not, if he doesn't want that neither, he could literally live his entire life in Miami. Considering he is still scoring like crazy, that means he could just renew his contract there and get as much money as possible and just play until he retires, and then retire and live there as a retired rich person.

Miami is a great place to live if you are wealthy, and he is. Just because his contract is ending, doesn't mean he needs to move to another team, he could just keep getting paid by Miami, and he is earning a lot there too, not like he is working for a few million, people act as if Saudis offer a lot, and Miami offers nothing, but Miami offers a lot of money too, just because it's less than what Saudis offer, doesn't mean it's nothing, it's still a lot of money.

[Slow death]

Yesterday was not a good day for Al-Ittihad, they played a friendly game in which they lost, but the problem was not only the defeat, it was the fact that they conceded 4 goals and were unable to score at least 1 goal of honor, they only had 5 shots on target, I know the game was friendly, but the good players from Al-Ittihad were in the squad, Benzema was playing.



Even if the argument is used that it was a friendly game and that's why the players didn't try hard, nobody likes to lose, this defeat is not good, but as I'm a fan of Al Nassr I hope they're not in good shape on the day of the game against Al Nassr to lose, it would be a very good victory for Al Nassr, in 3 days Al-Ittihad will play another friendly game, it will be against Fulham who is an opponent that cannot be underestimated

[AirtelBuzz]

A person becomes the best through hard work. Because if a person does not work hard and if he does not have experience in something, then that person will never be able to become a good player. There is no doubt that Ronaldo is a very good player. Maybe the influence that Ronaldo is exerting on the subject will be good for his team, just like we see Messi, Messi accepts whatever his entire team says, no one ever questions him. Maybe he wants to see his team improve and make it the best through more hard work.

A person can definitely become the best through hard work but in the case of a sportsperson's life, perhaps this scenario is different because I think he must be talented along with hard work. We know that Cristiano Ronaldo has made an impact at club and national team since the beginning so maybe there is no room for complaint on this issue because it can be said without a doubt that the important and iconic players of the team will definitely be ready to take any decision and their distinctive powers will remain intact.

You are right that the entire team accepts whatever Messi says, in fact everyone has accepted him as an idol for which his important role stands out in everyone's eyes. I think an iconic player should be given absolute power, considering his game-changing nature and his priorities perhaps this enthusiasm and genuine qualities are definitely present in the Portuguese player in full.

[Mate2237]

Yesterday was not a good day for Al-Ittihad, they played a friendly game in which they lost, but the problem was not only the defeat, it was the fact that they conceded 4 goals and were unable to score at least 1 goal of honor, they only had 5 shots on target, I know the game was friendly, but the good players from Al-Ittihad were in the squad, Benzema was playing.



Even if the argument is used that it was a friendly game and that's why the players didn't try hard, nobody likes to lose, this defeat is not good, but as I'm a fan of Al Nassr I hope they're not in good shape on the day of the game against Al Nassr to lose, it would be a very good victory for Al Nassr, in 3 days Al-Ittihad will play another friendly game, it will be against Fulham who is an opponent that cannot be underestimated

Nice result for Mourinho as his team won convincingly by 4:0  as they plan for the new season but one thing you have to know is that this game was a friendly game meaning that it was not a competitive game we all know the quality of the Saudi league I don't think that this game would have gone this way if it where a competitive game.



We all saw how the team from the Saudi league performed at the just concluded club world cup but since yet it's not a good result for any team to be proud but fenarbach has a big challenge going into the season proper as Galatasaray is their biggest problem towards their ambition of winning the Turkish super league

[slapper]

Al Nassr looks emptied out a bit, they really need to get some other star players to help out Ronaldo. Looking at them right now, he is feeling a bit alone, Mane didn't provide the help they thought he would, they need someone better. Plus, they still have a goalkeeper issue, have you seen the guy play? He was horrible, and as far as I know, this summer, they didn't get a new one, right? If they decide to play with him again, they are going to lose again, he concedes such simple goals, even Onana looks better than him.

Anyways I guess, this season, Al Nassr won't even be third place, they are going to battle for 4th or 5th, because other teams are doing a much better job. I see that they pay a ton to Ronaldo, so they don't have much left, but they need to do better.

I agree with you, even though it's a very financially stable club, I also don't understand why they're not making many signings. I know that Jorge Jesus is a very competent coach, but even he can't work miracles when the squad is very weak. For example, Al Ittihad is still active in the transfer market. Now they want to sign Ismael Bennacer, who is an Ac Milan player according to this source.

https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1948018186676482556

They also have the option of signing Brazilian player Marcus Wendel Valle da Silva, who plays for Zenit St. Petersburg. Note that Al Ittihad has a good squad, they are the current champions, but they are still making signings. If Al Nassr continues with the same defensive players and does not make new goalkeeper signings, it will be difficult next season. Last season they conceded 38 goals, they were the fourth-best team in defense. If they had conceded only 20 goals, they would have won the league.

The irony is, for all the drama about signings and the obsession with splashing cash, the stats show that "defense wins titles" still holds, even in the Saudi Pro League. Al Nassr conceding 38 goals was a symptom of a club that is obsessed with star signings up front and basically doing DIY at the back. If they would had anything close to Al Ittihad defensive record (or just kept it under 30 goals), it would have forced the title race into the last week.

Al Nassr is built around Ronaldo. Dude played 85% of the league minutes at 40, took 25% of the team's shots, and scored a third of their goals. It is a tactical one-way street. So if the defense is shaky, the entire house comes down. Jorge Jesus can organize a press, but unless he gets a midfield that can run for two (because Ronaldo is not chasing anyone), those goals against are not going away.

People forget: Al Nassr's defensive issues are not about the goalkeeper (Bento is actually the least of their problems). It is about an imbalanced squad, no depth, and a transfer policy that panics or U-turns at the last minute (just ask Hancko, who literally landed for his medical before the club ghosted him). So unless the board wakes up and signs someone who can actually defend, we will be right back here next season: counting Ronaldo's goals, but not counting trophies.

[kawetsriyanto]

Yesterday was not a good day for Al-Ittihad, they played a friendly game in which they lost, but the problem was not only the defeat, it was the fact that they conceded 4 goals and were unable to score at least 1 goal of honor, they only had 5 shots on target, I know the game was friendly, but the good players from Al-Ittihad were in the squad, Benzema was playing.

Yep, it was a bad day. Al Ittihad scored no goal, meanwhile Fenerbahce scored 4 goals. I think Al Ittihad didn't play with a proper tactic, so they couldn't deal with Fenerbahce game. Sure, Al Ittihad used all their main players, we expected they could play better. But since it was a friendly match, we can't determine the strength of the team based on the result of the match. The result can be different if it was an official match of international competitions. However, I appreciate some Fenerbahce players that they could show great performance, especially for John Duran.  

Even if the argument is used that it was a friendly game and that's why the players didn't try hard, nobody likes to lose, this defeat is not good, but as I'm a fan of Al Nassr I hope they're not in good shape on the day of the game against Al Nassr to lose, it would be a very good victory for Al Nassr, in 3 days Al-Ittihad will play another friendly game, it will be against Fulham who is an opponent that cannot be underestimated

You're right. Each team must expect to win in each match, even it is a friendly match. But since the result of the match won't bring any impact to the teams, they probably won't play with 100% of their ability. Some football teams often don't apply a tight pressing or an aggressive tactic in the friendly match due to avoiding injury cases. Moreover Benzema is prone of injury, the coach won't force him to play very seriously.

[Cossyblack]

https://dailypost.ng/2025/07/20/no-player-should-be-given-absolute-power-al-sheikh-slams-al-nassr-over-ronaldo/

Ronaldo is known from the early days of his career to have had some level of influence on his clubs and national team. He sometimes influences the players and coaches that the club management hires. This is also the case in Al Nassr. It is believed that he was behind the sacking of coach Stefano Pioli and the replacement with Jorge Jesus. He also used his reputation to influence the sacking of the club's CEO Majed Jamaan Al-Sorour and he also made sure the club replaced him with his close friend Jose Semedo.

Former Saudi Arabian Football Federation Spokesman, Mohammed Al-Sheikh, has frowned at this excess power given to the Portuguese captain. Al-Sheikh appreciates Ronaldo's positive contributions to the SPL but he thinks that his powers should have limits.

Too much power in a single hands can be abused and am sure that's what is playing out in Al Nassr. Al-Sheikh that's criticizing Ronaldo influence on the affairs of the club is nothing but a talkative that is simply trying to gain attention besides what has he(Al-Sheikh) contributed to the Saudi league. I also want to believe that Ronaldo has not in any way abused his powers as alleged. The Portuguese star is gradually doing whatever he could for the overall best interest of his club and the entire Saudi league. The Saudi league is what it is today because of Ronaldo.  I think Ronaldo has done more good than any players has ever done for the Saudi league. Today the  Saudi league is making a lot of money only because Ronaldo is still playing for Al Nassr. Let's just allow Cristiano Ronaldo to build his team to a greater heights and for the greater good.

[Sithara007]

Too much power in a single hands can be abused and am sure that's what is playing out in Al Nassr. Al-Sheikh that's criticizing Ronaldo influence on the affairs of the club is nothing but a talkative that is simply trying to gain attention besides what has he(Al-Sheikh) contributed to the Saudi league. I also want to believe that Ronaldo has not in any way abused his powers as alleged. The Portuguese star is gradually doing whatever he could for the overall best interest of his club and the entire Saudi league. The Saudi league is what it is today because of Ronaldo.  I think Ronaldo has done more good than any players has ever done for the Saudi league. Today the  Saudi league is making a lot of money only because Ronaldo is still playing for Al Nassr. Let's just allow Cristiano Ronaldo to build his team to a greater heights and for the greater good.

Al Nassr management doesn't have a problem. So does Cristiano Ronaldo. So I am surprised with all the comments from others, who have an issue here. The reason why Ronaldo wanted a greater say in club affairs was due to issues in coaching and team management. He had issues with the previous coach, under whose management the team performed well below the expectations. Anyway, Ronaldo is already 40 years old, so at the most he will play for another two years at Al Nassr before retiring.

[Tamaperdana]

Yesterday was not a good day for Al-Ittihad, they played a friendly game in which they lost, but the problem was not only the defeat, it was the fact that they conceded 4 goals and were unable to score at least 1 goal of honor, they only had 5 shots on target, I know the game was friendly, but the good players from Al-Ittihad were in the squad, Benzema was playing.



Even if the argument is used that it was a friendly game and that's why the players didn't try hard, nobody likes to lose, this defeat is not good, but as I'm a fan of Al Nassr I hope they're not in good shape on the day of the game against Al Nassr to lose, it would be a very good victory for Al Nassr, in 3 days Al-Ittihad will play another friendly game, it will be against Fulham who is an opponent that cannot be underestimated

Yes, you are absolutely right, even though this is a friendly match, but still if you lose it will slightly lower the dignity of the losing team. In addition, I personally also did not expect that Al Ittihad could lose with that much score, even though as we know Al Ittihad is a great team and they are champions in the Saudi Arabian league in the season that has just ended. So with this, Al Ittihad should not lose with this much score. Because of course it is quite embarrassing for a team of their class.

In addition, what made me quite surprised in this match, namely Duran managed to score 2 goals for Fenerbahce. I think Fenerbahce is not in vain borrowing Duran from Al Nasr, because like him he will be an important player there. And in my personal opinion, if for example Duran can continue to be consistent with his great performance, he could be permanent by Fenerbahce. So with this Al Nasr must be prepared to lose Duran.

[jaberwock]

MLS can't offer money like SPL. If Messi's after money he'll sign a mega contract with Al Ahli. He's played in Argentina Spain & America so if he wants new experiences he'll leave Inter Miami. Messi's got options to stay in Inter Miami or go to SPL.

That is why they are not really offering him a "salary", they are offering him a revenue share. Meaning, he gets a cut from the money they made. Also, why would he need a new thing? He is living in one of the best places for an Hispanic person to live, Miami is a great place. As a Christian, it is not easy for someone to decide to go to Saudi league, while we have seen plenty who accepted, we have also seen plenty that rejected.

Most famously, Kroos rejected big time, like literally joked about it. So we are seeing Messi, who already makes 100 million a year, from the revenue share, and saying, he should go there? Why? Miami is better, and he has money, there is really no need for "even more" money, he is not making 5 million and offered 500, he is getting 100 and offered 200+, so it doesn't worth it for him.

[arabspaceship123]

Messi's $20M salary at Inter Miami isn't big if he's going to get over $100M playing SPL. If Al Ahli makes an offer it's going to be hard to reject ecause he's going to get mega money. MLS can't give him salary like SPL can.

MLS can't offer money like SPL. If Messi's after money he'll sign a mega contract with Al Ahli. He's played in Argentina Spain & America so if he wants new experiences he'll leave Inter Miami. Messi's got options to stay in Inter Miami or go to SPL.

That is why they are not really offering him a "salary", they are offering him a revenue share. Meaning, he gets a cut from the money they made. Also, why would he need a new thing? He is living in one of the best places for an Hispanic person to live, Miami is a great place. As a Christian, it is not easy for someone to decide to go to Saudi league, while we have seen plenty who accepted, we have also seen plenty that rejected.

Most famously, Kroos rejected big time, like literally joked about it. So we are seeing Messi, who already makes 100 million a year, from the revenue share, and saying, he should go there? Why? Miami is better, and he has money, there is really no need for "even more" money, he is not making 5 million and offered 500, he is getting 100 and offered 200+, so it doesn't worth it for him.

[Republikcoin.com]

I agree than an individual player is not bigger than the club, or the league as a whole. But that said, when you have an all time great player in your club, you need to treat him with respect. Ronaldo revived the prospects of Al Nassr, made the Saudi Professional League one of the most popular leagues in the world, and then played his part in Saudi Arabia winning the hosting rights for FIFA World Cup 2034. Given all this, the recently signed contract between him and Al Nassr is fair and mutually beneficial to both the sides.

Your statement is certainly true, as Al Nassr's treatment of a player like Ronaldo has been very fair and also quite extraordinary. Ronaldo has had a significant impact on Saudi Arabia and has attracted players who are no longer able to compete in Europe to come to Saudi Arabia before they retire. Although previously I was also surprised by Ronaldo's new contract at Al Nassr because it was really brilliant for a great player like Ronaldo and I also think that on the one hand Al Nassr has also had more advantages since signing Ronaldo to be the main player in the Al Nassr team.

[Kaliandra]

Jhon Duran's performance was extraordinary because he could score a goal in Fenerbahce's match against Ittihad, I was reminded of when Jhon Duran was in the SPL he defended Al nassr but uniquely in yesterday's match Jhon Duran fought a strong SPL team, Ittihad and finally Jhon Duran managed to prove that he had a good performance. but unfortunately Talisca did not play due to injury but of course in my opinion the match was an entertaining match.

Ittihad really has to improve its performance because being beaten 4-0 by Fenerbahce certainly cannot be considered playing games even though it was a friendly match. it is also very unfortunate that Benzema did not score in that match. in my opinion the match really illustrates that Ittihad certainly still has shortcomings such as its defense which is a little less good. By looking at that match, of course, it must give hope to strong spl teams like Al Hilal and Al Nassr that they will certainly be able to potentially beat Ittihad because of course Al Nassr and Al Hilal must have seen Ittihad's weaknesses. so in my opinion there is a possibility that Ittihad will not become champions next season if Ittihad cannot fix its shortcomings.

[Zlantann]

I agree than an individual player is not bigger than the club, or the league as a whole. But that said, when you have an all time great player in your club, you need to treat him with respect. Ronaldo revived the prospects of Al Nassr, made the Saudi Professional League one of the most popular leagues in the world, and then played his part in Saudi Arabia winning the hosting rights for FIFA World Cup 2034. Given all this, the recently signed contract between him and Al Nassr is fair and mutually beneficial to both the sides.

Your statement is certainly true, as Al Nassr's treatment of a player like Ronaldo has been very fair and also quite extraordinary. Ronaldo has had a significant impact on Saudi Arabia and has attracted players who are no longer able to compete in Europe to come to Saudi Arabia before they retire. Although previously I was also surprised by Ronaldo's new contract at Al Nassr because it was really brilliant for a great player like Ronaldo and I also think that on the one hand Al Nassr has also had more advantages since signing Ronaldo to be the main player in the Al Nassr team.

No doubt Ronaldo has done so much good to the Saudi Professional League. He deserves to be respected by both the players and the management of the League. But his excesses couid destroy what he has built. There are reports of him interfering in the club's selection and not giving coaches due respect.  Some players of Al Nassr might not also be pleased with the excessive privileges he enjoys and the club could start facing disunity. I think he should allow the coaches do their job and he should stop recommending his friends to the club's leadership positions.  It might be seen as nepotism and overdue influence.

[ITExpert]

https://dailypost.ng/2025/07/20/no-player-should-be-given-absolute-power-al-sheikh-slams-al-nassr-over-ronaldo/
Ronaldo is known from the early days of his career to have had some level of influence on his clubs and national team. He sometimes influences the players and coaches that the club management hires. This is also the case in Al Nassr. It is believed that he was behind the sacking of coach Stefano Pioli and the replacement with Jorge Jesus. He also used his reputation to influence the sacking of the club's CEO Majed Jamaan Al-Sorour and he also made sure the club replaced him with his close friend Jose Semedo.

Former Saudi Arabian Football Federation Spokesman, Mohammed Al-Sheikh, has frowned at this excess power given to the Portuguese captain. Al-Sheikh appreciates Ronaldo's positive contributions to the SPL but he thinks that his powers should have limits.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a dominant personality due to his achievements and the contributions to this field. His influence speaks louder. Because his name is helping the league to make it even more popular in the world. He is almost the one who is highly paid in the league. But the team Al-Nassr needs more authentic signings for the sake of good results. As every club of the Saudi pro league is financially stabled. There are some people who do not seem happy over the influence of Cristiano Ronaldo. No doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is an honest and positive person but still has thoughts that he should use his authority while keeping himself in the concerned limit. So, things will happen on the plans not due to the personality influence of a specific player.