Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr has created much buzz about the club and brought global attention to the team and the Saudi Pro League.
Al Nassr sit second in the Saudi top-flight standings and they are gunning for a league title, hoping to qualify for next year's AFC Champions League in the process. They were eliminated in the semis of the Saudi Super Cup, but they are in the semifinals of the King Cup of Champions.
Now 38 years old, Ronaldo signed on with Al Nassr after the mutual cancellation of his Manchester United contract that left him free to sign with any club.
Ronaldo's official debut with the club came on Sunday, January 22. Here are details on his next match, highlights from his previous contests, and what the rest of the season holds in store for the Portuguese superstar.
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Al Nassr next match
Ronaldo and Al Nassr are in a battle with giants Al Ittihad for titles on multiple fronts to close out the 2022/23 season.
The two teams are neck-and-neck for the Saudi Pro League title with Al Ittihad, who have a narrow lead. Al Ittihad also eliminated Al Nassr in the semifinals of the Saudi Super Cup.
The two are also on a collision course to meet in the final of the Saudi King Cup with both needing to get past semifinal opposition to set up a meeting in the final.
But for now the league is the priority with Al Nassr traveling to face second-from-bottom Al Adalah on April 4, while Al Ittihad have a winnable match at home against Damac on the same day.
- Al Nassr next match: Al Adalah (away)
- Competition: Saudi Pro League (matchday 22)
- Stadium: Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium (Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia)
- Date / Time: Tuesday, April 4 / 10 p.m. local time
MORE: All the details on Cristiano Ronaldo's contract at Al Nassr
Global date, time for Al Adalah vs Al Nassr
Date | Kickoff time | |
USA | Tues, April 4 | 15:00 EDT |
Canada | Tues, April 4 | 15:00 EDT |
UK | Tues, April 4 | 20:00 GMT |
Australia | Wed, April 5 | 05:00 AEST |
India | Wed, April 5 | 00:30 IST |
Hong Kong | Wed, April 5 | 03:00 HKT |
Malaysia | Wed, April 5 | 03:00 MYT |
Singapore | Wed, April 5 | 03:00 SGT |
New Zealand | Wed, April 5 | 07:00 NZST |
MORE: Who are Al Nassr? All about Ronaldo's new club
Al Nassr match schedule 2023
Al Nassr sit second in the Saudi Pro League, and will look to push to finish top in order to secure the league title and qualify for the AFC Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his Al Nassr debut on January 22 vs Ettifaq and he has since been involved in a total of 10 matches with the only two losses coming against Al Ittihad -- once in league play and once in the Saudi Super Cup, which Al Ittihad went on to win.
MORE: Who owns Al Nassr? Who is paying for Cristiano Ronaldo's mega contract?
Date | Competition | Stage | Opponent |
---|---|---|---|
Tue, Apr. 4 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 22 | at Al Adalah |
Sun, Apr. 9 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 23 | at Al Feiha |
Tue, April 18 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 24 | at Al Hilal |
Sun, April 23 | King Cup of Champions | Semifinal | vs. Al Wehda |
Thu, Apr. 27 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 25 | vs. Al Raed |
TBD | King Cup of Champions | Final | TBD* |
Tue, May 9 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 26 | vs. Al Khaleej |
Mon, May 15 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 27 | at Al Ta'ee |
Sat, May 20 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 28 | vs. Al Shabab |
Fri, May 26 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 29 | at Ettifaq |
Wed, May 31 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 30 | vs. Al Fateh |
* Neutral site
Are Al Nassr playing in the Asian Champions League?
This season, Al Nassr did not qualify for the 2022/23 Asian Champions League (known as the AFC Champions League after the confederation name).
The Saudi Pro League gets three automatic spots into the 2023/24 AFC Champions League group stage and one qualifying slot. The 2021/22 and 2022/23 champions of the Saudi Pro League get two of the direct berths, while the other goes to the 2022/23 King Cup champion. The slot in the qualifying stages goes to the 2021/22 King Cup winner Al Fayha.
Should Al Nassr win the 2022/23 Saudi Pro League or the King Cup, they would automatically qualify for next season's AFC Champions League. Al Nassr have never won the AFC Champions League, but the club did reach the final in 1995, its only appearance in that stage of the tournament.
MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo's salary in Saudi Arabi; how much does CR7 make?
Al Nassr scores, results 2022/23
Upon Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in mid-January, Al Nassr had only lost one match all season, a 1-0 defeat against Al Taawoun back on the second day of the season (Sept. 3).
Their second loss of the season came in the Saudi Super Cup semifinal against Al Ittihad (Jan. 26), who also dealt Ronaldo's side a third loss on the season with a narrow 1-0 win in league play on March 9.
Date | Competition | Stage | Opponent | Result | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug. 27, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 1 | vs. Al Wehda | Win | 1-0 |
Sep. 3, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 2 | at Al Taawoun | Loss | 1-0 |
Sep 10, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 3 | vs. Damac | Win | 2-1 |
Sep. 15, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 4 | at Al Batin | Win | 4-0 |
Oct. 2, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 5 | vs. Al Ittihad | Draw | 0-0 |
Oct. 7, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 6 | at Abha | Win | 3-0 |
Oct. 11, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 7 | vs. Al Adalah | Win | 4-1 |
Oct. 16, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 8 | vs. Al Fayha | Win | 4-0 |
Dec. 16, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 9 | at Al Raed | Win | 4-1 |
Dec. 21, 2022 | King Cup of Champions | Round of 16 | vs. Al Adalah | Win | 2-0 |
Dec. 26, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 10 | vs. Al Hilal | Draw | 2-2 |
Dec. 31, 2022 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 11 | at Al. Khaleej | Win | 1-0 |
Jan. 6, 2023 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 12 | vs. Al Ta'ee | Win | 2-0 |
Jan. 14, 2023 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 13 | @ Al Shabab | Draw | 0-0 |
Jan. 22, 2023 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 14 | vs. Ettifaq | Win | 1-0 |
Jan. 26, 2023 | Saudi Super Cup | Semifinals | vs. Al Ittihad | Loss | 3-1 |
Feb. 3, 2023 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 15 | @ Al Fateh | Draw | 2-2 |
Thu, Feb. 9 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 16 | at Al Wehda | Win | 4-0 |
Fri, Feb. 17 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 17 | vs. Al Taawoun | Win | 2-1 |
Sat, Feb. 25 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 18 | at Damac | Win | 3-0 |
Fri, Mar. 3 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 19 | vs. Al Batin | Win | 3-1 |
Thu, Mar. 9 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 20 | @ Al Ittihad | Loss | 1-0 |
Tue, Mar. 14 | King Cup of Champions | Quarterfinals | vs. Abha | Win | 3-1 |
Sat, Mar. 18 | Saudi Pro League | Matchday 21 | vs. Abha | Win | 2-1 |