Who are Al Nassr? Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club
It’s official. Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer a free agent having signed for Saudi side Al Nassr.
The move will see the 37-year-old earn a world-record salary on a two-and-a-half year deal, which was confirmed on December 30.
The eyes of the footballing world and beyond will follow Ronaldo in this new and unorthodox journey to Saudi Arabia.
So, who are Al Nassr, Ronaldo’s new club?
As was very much evident at Man Utd, with him and Ten Hag clashing, a club’s manager is extremely important to whether Ronaldo succeeds there or not.
Al Nassr’s manager is Rudi Garcia, with the Frenchman taking charge in June of this year, replacing Pedro Emanuel.
Garcia didn’t have a hugely successful playing career but has since made a name for himself as a manager, taking charge of Lille, Roma, Marseille and Lyon.
His greatest achievement came at Lille when he won Ligue 1 in 2011. After that, he enjoyed some relatively successful periods but ended up without a job following a disappointing 2020/21 campaign with Lyon.
A year later, he was hired by Al Nassr and has made a strong start to life in Saudi Arabia, winning six of his first eight matches.
Ronaldo is now the biggest name at the club by a long way, but they do already have some high profile players in their squad.
Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar joined in the summer of 2021 and has done well since, getting 10 goals in 30 matches, while David Ospina and Luiz Gustavo were signed this year.
The club’s best performer though has been Brazilian forward Anderson Talisca, formerly of Benfica. Last season, he got 20 goals in 28 league matches and has five in six this campaign.
As shown by the fact that they have the money to make Ronaldo the highest-paid player ever, Al Nassr are one of the richest clubs in the world.
Saudi prince Abdul Rahman bin Saud Al Saud took charge of the club in 1960 and oversaw their journey from an amateur side to one of the nation’s biggest, funding their rise to the top.
He passed away in 2004 but they have continued to receive the financial backing of Saudi royalty since, meaning money is no object to them.
Al Nassr’s home stadium is Mrsool Park, which is located on the western fringes of Riyadh and has a capacity of 25,000.
For comparison, this would be the fourth-smallest stadium in the Premier League.
Ronaldo has in fact played here before – his Juventus side were beaten 3-1 by Lazio back in 2019 during the Supercoppa Italiana.
Al Nassr are one of Saudi Arabia’s most successful clubs, winning the nation’s top division on nine occasions; only Al-Hilal have lifted it more often.
They’ve enjoyed success in cup competitions too, winning the King’s Cup six times, the Crown Prince’s Cup three times, the domestic Super Cup twice, the Asian Super Cup once and the Asian Cup Winners‘ Cup once.
However, the biggest prize, the Asian Champions League, has proved illusive, reaching the final once in 1995 but failing to ever lift the trophy.
They haven’t won the league title for two seasons, finishing second and sixth since triumphing in 2019, but did win the King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup in 2020.