As Ronaldo heads towards 1,000 career goals, the league plans to lift the standard of Saudi Arabian football, not just the clubs
There is no Mohamed Salah in the new Saudi Pro League season that kicks off on Thursday and while the era of the ageing megastar is ending, there is still the strong chance that the next few months will be dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo. The 41-year-old is 24 shy of 1,000 career goals and, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner having scored 102 in 107 league games for Al-Nassr so far, the milestone could – should – be reached this season.
Huge as that will be, just how it fits into the plans of the league is unclear. This is the fourth season since the spending started with $957m (£710m) splashed out in that summer of 2023. It delivered thousands of articles, dozens of international broadcasting deals and untold numbers of people worldwide sporting the yellow CR7 Al-Nassr shirt. Now, though, the focus is on getting a little more value for money and lifting not just the clubs but the standard of Saudi Arabian football in general.
