Ronaldo scored twice to seal the Saudi Pro League final with Al-Nassr | Football News

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo led Al-Nassr to the Saudi Pro League in the last match before the 2026 World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Al-Nassr won the Saudi Pro League title with a 4-1 victory over Damac, ending a long wait to buy the domestic kit.

A trademark free kick and a close finish, both in the last half of Thursday’s game, sealed the victory Al-Nassr needed on the last night of the season, Al Hilal only finished two points behind.

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Ronaldo, 41, who had not won a major club trophy since winning Serie A with Juventus in 2020, arrived at the super-rich desert kingdom in 2023, crying as he watched the final minutes from the bench.

He adds the Saudi championship to his English, Spanish and Italian titles as well as five Champions League medals.

Al-Nassr took a 2-0 lead but clawed their way back to 2-1 before Ronaldo’s 63rd-minute strike eluded the goalkeeper with a forest of legs to find the far corner.

He struck again with nine minutes to go, received a cut on the edge of the six-yard box and smashed wide of the net.

Next up for the world’s greatest player of all time, with 143 goals, is a sixth World Cup goal after being selected in Portugal’s squad this week.

Ronaldo opened the door for big-money Saudi signings when he joined Al-Nassr in January 2023, following an unhappy second spell at Manchester United.

Neymar and Karim Benzema were among Ronaldo’s suitors after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal worth an estimated $232m, with a two-year extension in June 2025.

His goal was to transform the Pro League into one of the top five soccer leagues in the world measured by player numbers, game volume and commercial success. But the interest of other countries was not mentioned.

In December 2024, Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the host of the 2034 World Cup, taking over as it seeks to diversify its economy from oil and attract businesses and tourists, especially for sports.

With a profile of 664 million Instagram followers, Ronaldo has become the most visible ambassador as Saudi Arabia tries to turn the page on the most governing image it has portrayed in years.

The global oil major and Islamic house has been accused of “washing sports” – using sports to protest against human rights – as it has invested in Formula 1, golf, boxing and tennis along with football.

Some of the most unusual uses for various economic activities, including tourist development and NEOM, a future city in the desert, are being implemented.

This month, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it was exiting the LIV Golf tour, after plowing more than $5bn into the sport.

Expensive player signings have also declined as big-money transfers have dwindled.

Ronaldo was the top scorer in the Pro League in his first two seasons, and his career tally now stands at 973 – impressively short of reaching 1,000 goals.

His settlement in Saudi has not always been smooth sailing. In 2024, he was left in tears as Al-Nassr lost the King’s Cup final to Al Hilal on penalties, denying him his first Saudi title.

This season, he was missing from Al-Nassr’s lineup for three games in a show that Benzema transferred to Al Hilal.

Al Hilal and Al-Nassr were among the Saudi investment groups that own the Public Investment Fund, the country’s $900bn sovereign wealth fund.

Before Thursday, Ronaldo and Al-Nassr’s only silverware was the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup. They were disappointed again on Saturday, when Al-Nassr lost to Gamba Osaka in the final match of the AFC Champions League Two.