Rudi Garcia, the former manager of Al-Nassr, once compared Pele’s 1975 transfer to the New York Cosmos to Cristiano Ronaldo’s lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League.
He thought the superstar Portuguese player could do for the Saudi Pro League what Pele’s transfer accomplished for the growth of American football.
When it comes to Ronaldo, there is no question that he was correct. The 39-year-old’s large financial relocation to the Middle East may have served as a spark for the exodus of numerous other well-known football players to Saudi Arabia.
Despite having won nearly everything in his illustrious career, the former Manchester United player appears to be missing one trophy at the moment: the Saudi Pro League.
With four games remaining, league opponents Al-Hilal are presently leading the standings by 12 points, thus his wait to win the title may also be extended a little bit. This implies that Al-Nassr and Ronaldo, who finished as runners-up to Al-Ittihad l, would lose out on winning the league for the second consecutive season.The 39-year-old may be kicking himself a little more this time around as well, since he leads his closest rival, Aleksandar Mitrovic, by a wide margin after scoring an incredible 32 goals in 27 league games.
It’s undeniable that Al-Hilal deserves to win the trophy this year despite the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s incredible talent. This would be their second trophy of the season, following their victory in the Saudi Super Cup last month. It would be their fourth league triumph since 2020.
Al-Hilal is actually undefeated in the league this year, having only lost points twice in the first part of the season with draws of 1-1 with Damac and Al-Fayha in August and September.
They’ve also smashed records this season. Mitrovic scored a goal to assist Jesus’ team defeat Al-Taawoun 3-0 on Friday, securing their 28th straight victory.
As a result, they surpassed Welsh Premier side The New Saints’ record of 27 games, set in 2016, for the most consecutive victories ever accumulated by a professional football team.