Inside Al-Nassr: 23 facts about Ronaldo's new club
All you need to know about Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club and one of the most prominent teams in Saudi Arabia.
The Portuguese begins a new chapter in the Saudi Pro League playing for Al-Nassr
The league’s star signing was presented to fans at Mrsool Park
We bring you the key facts on Al-Nassr, one of the Kingdom’s most venerable clubs
In one of the most sensational transfers of recent times, Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Saudi club Al-Nassr on 1 January 2023 after signing a contract valid until 2025.
While most people in the Arab region know Al-Nassr, the Saudi club is perhaps not as well-known globally. Here, we bring you some key details.
1. Established in 1955, Al-Nassr is among the oldest clubs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
2. The team's current stadium is Mrsool Park, with a capacity of about 25,000 spectators
3. Al-Nassr are currently top of the Saudi Pro League, with 26 points from 11 games, one more than Al-Shabab and two clear of Al-Ittihad, both of whom have a game in hand.
4. Al-Nassr player Anderson Talisca is the top scorer in this season’s league championship with nine goals, while his compatriot and team-mate Luiz Gustavo is sixth-highest with four strikes.
5. The club finished third in last season’s Pro League.
6. Al-Nassr were the first Saudi team to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup, playing in the 2000 edition against Spanish giants Real Madrid, Morocco’s Raja, and Brazil’s Corinthians.
7. Al-Nassr fans are proud to call their club Al-Alami, the Arabic word for global.
8. The club have won 8 league titles: 1980, 1981, 1989, 1994, 1995, 2014, 2015 and 2019.
9. They have also won six King Cup titles: 1974, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1987 and 1990.
10. The club have won the Crown Prince Cup three times: 1973, 1974 and 2013.
11. They have won three editions of the Saudi Federation Cup, also known as Prince Faisal Cup: 1975, 1997 and 2007.
12. The club lifted the Saudi Super Cup in 2019 and 2020.
13. At continental level, Al-Nassr have won two titles: the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998 and the Asian Super Cup in the same year.
14. The team's best performance in the AFC Champions League was in 1995, when they finished runners-up. With Ronaldo, who boasts five UEFA Champions League titles, in the side, perhaps they might finally win the title.
15. At regional level, the team have won the Gulf Club Cup twice, in 1996 and 1997.
16. Al-Nassr have been coached by a host of big names, including Walter Zenga, Rene Higuita (temporary), Fabio Cannavaro and Henri Michel.
17. Club legend Majed Abdullah is the Saudi League’s all-time top scorer with 189 goals. (Omar Al-Somah, the former Al-Ahli player, is the top scorer since the tournament became fully professional, with 144 goals).
18. Another former player, Abderrazak Hamdallah, holds the record for most league goals scored in one season, with 34.
19. The oldest Al-Nassr player before Ronaldo joined the ranks of the club was goalkeeper Walid Abdullah, at 36. Now the Portuguese, at 37, is the oldest.
20. The average age of the Al-Nassr first team now stands at 26.7, which is still the sixth lowest in the Saudi League.
21. A number of clubs in different Arab countries, including Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Libya, are called Al-Nassr [the Arabic word for victory], but the Saudi club is the most famous of them.
22. Ronaldo will not be the first former Real Madrid or Barcelona player to represent for Al-Nassr, with Hristo Stoichkov, a legend of the Catalan club during the 1990’s, having also worn their colours.
23. Al-Nassr defeated Real Madrid 4-1 in a friendly in May 2008, a few months before Ronaldo joined the Spanish giants.