Cristiano Ronaldo infamously blew up his Manchester United career in November 2022.
Manchester United blocked Cristiano Ronaldo’s request to leave the club in summer 2022, hoping he could play a key role under Erik ten Hag.
An unhappy Ronaldo stayed, and his sullen mood got worse when Manchester United started the season poorly under Ten Hag.
Ronaldo forced an exit, leaving by mutual consent ahead of the Qatar World Cup. A big move to another European club did not materialise, such was his damaging spell at Old Trafford.
Instead, Ronaldo settled on a move to the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, where he led a succession of superstars in swapping Europe for the Middle East.
Three years on, Ronaldo is a little closer to accomplishing two personal goals that can make his spell in Saudi Arabia a success.
Cristiano Ronaldo has never won Saudi Pro League
Since joining Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo has found team silverware to be not quite straightforward.
Al-Hilal won the title in 2023/24 and Al-Ittihad in 2024/25, both aided by foreign imports. Al-Nassr finished in second and third respectively.
Early on in the 2025/26 season, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr rank top of the Saudi Pro League table after seven games, with seven wins.
Ronaldo sealed their latest victory with a late stoppage time penalty at the weekend. Al-Nassr have scored 23 goals and only conceded three.
There is a long way to go for Ronaldo and co, but they could not have asked for a better start.
Lifting the Saudi Pro League title this season would be a bigger achievement for Ronaldo than if he had waltzed in and won it first time of asking.
Cristiano Ronaldo edging closer to 1,000 goals
Whatever he says, team success comes secondary for Cristiano Ronaldo. His ambition is to become the first player to score 1,000 career goals in the modern era.
Ronaldo has already set a single season Saudi Pro League scoring record with 35 goals, and has already netted more than 100 for the club.
The superstar is now up to 952 professional career goals, and it is only a matter of time before he reaches the magical figure of 1,000.
Heading into next year’s World Cup, set to be Ronaldo’s last, he is in a far better place mentally than he was in 2022.
- Sporting: 5
- Manchester United: 145
- Real Madrid: 450
- Juventus: 101
- Al-Nassr: 108
- Portugal: 143
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