The Saudi Pro League continues to attract major international attention following the wave of transfer signings to the country during the summer of 2023.
The Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired focus on Al Nassr that started in January 2023 stepped up even more as Ronaldo was joined by stars like Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Seko Fofana, Aymeric Laporte and Alex Telles, who have already helped to deliver a first piece of silverware with the Arab Club Champions Cup.
But stars have flocked to other Saudi Arabian teams, too. Following a move by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to bring four of the league’s biggest clubs under their financial control, the transfers have rolled in across the board.
The increase in star names alongside Ronaldo, including his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad), World Cup winner N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad) and Brazil star Neymar (Al Hilal), will bring more eyes on the league for the new campaign.
For those tuning in for Ronaldo, The Sporting News details his schedule with Al Nassr for the coming season.
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Al Nassr’s next game will be against Al Hilal on May 31 in the final of the King’s Cup of Champions. It’s Al Nassr’s last match of the season.
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Al Nassr started the 2023/24 season competing across five competitions including the Saudi Pro League, King Cup, AFC Champions League, Arab Club Champions Cup, and Saudi Super Cup.
The Saudi Pro League released its fixtures on July 15, 2023 with the 2023/24 season starting for Al Nassr on August 14, 2023 and ending on May 27, 2024.
All times local for match location.
Despite losing out to Al Ittihad in the 2022/23 Saudi Pro League title race by just five points, their second-place finish secured Al Nassr a place in Asia’s AFC Champions League playoffs for the upcoming season.
Ronaldo and Co. sealed a 4-2 win over UAE side Shabab Al-Ahli in the playoff round to book a group-stage place, where they were paired with Persepolis (Iran), Al-Duhail (Qatar) and FC Istiklol (Tajikstan), in Group E. Al Nassr qualified as winners of the group.
In the Round of 16, Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game as Al Nassr won the first leg against Al Feiha 1-0 on February 14, 2024. The return leg ended 2-0 to the home side as Ronaldo again got on the scoresheet.
In the quarterfinals, they trailed Al Ain 1-0 from the first leg, with the return fixture on March 11 producing an enthralling affair. Al Nassr were 3-0 down on aggregate before forcing extra-time. Ronaldo dispatched a late penalty to level the tie again for the 10-man hosts but they lost 3-1 on spot kicks.
Feargal is a content producer for The Sporting News.
