In theory, players like Ivan Toney—the merely good to excellent strikers—ought to be irrelevant to Cristiano Ronaldo, their achievements meaningless against his own. Yet, when the all-time great caught sight of the Englishman on January 2, ahead of Al-Ahli vs Al-Nassr, a brief flicker of irritation appeared to cross his face.
If he was indeed annoyed, the feeling is understandable. Across six matches against clubs featuring Toney—Brentford and Al-Ahli—Ronaldo has managed just one goal contribution. Toney, by contrast, has seven. Ronaldo’s teams, Manchester United and Nassr, have won only three of those encounters and just one of the last four.
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Some defeats linger longer than others. The 4-0 dismantling of a hapless United at Brentford in August 2022, with Toney supplying two assists, was visibly painful for Ronaldo to get through. But the 3-2 loss to Al-Ahli on January 2—Toney scoring two and assisting the winner—may sting even more.
This is because the result brought Nassr’s 11-game unbeaten run in the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League season to an end. And, it is highly likely to cost the club first place in the league table—a position it has held since the first game week at the end of August. It is a remarkable turn of events; after 10 wins and a draw in 11 games, Nassr were still only two points clear. Because fierce rivals Al-Hilal has had a brilliant start, too. In 11 games, they had nine wins and two draws. They are set to play 14th placed Damac on January 4, and if, as expected, they secure the win, they will go one point clear at the top.
Even worse for Nassr, surprise package Al-Taawoun was only a win away from going level on points, at the time of writing (scheduled to play Al-Ittihad later on Saturday). But, a better head-to-head record would ensure Nassr remained second even if Al-Taawoun won (Nassr beat them 5-0 in the first game week). Moreover, it is expected that in the coming weeks, Al-Taawoun will start to drop points, making it a two-horse race.
In that context, the two Riyad derbies between Al-Hilal and Nassr on January 12 and May 7 both become six-pointers. But, can Nassr even remain in the top two till then?
The hard lessons from his time in Saudi Arabia will be playing in Ronaldo’s mind.
Despite filling his boots with goals and elevating the league’s global profile, Ronaldo, who turns 41 in February, is yet to lift the domestic league title. In both 2023-24 and 2024-25, Nassr’s title challenge had collapsed in the second half of the season. The gruelling schedule combined with the rising heat has often been cited as the reason. However, Nassr is better equipped to deal with those demands this time.
The evidence so far this season suggests that for the first time since his arrival, Nassr is no longer just the Ronaldo show. Under Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, who was brought in from Al-Hilal at the start of this season, the team is looking like a cohesive unit. In the last two seasons, Ronaldo was the league’s top scorer, with 35 and 25 goals. This season, he once again leads the scoring charts, but is joined by teammate and compatriot Joao Felix on 13 goals, who was signed at the start of this season. Apart from Felix, Nassr also brought in centre-back Inigo Martinez from Barcelona and Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich.
These signings, added to the likes of Mohamed Simakan, Sadio Mane and Marcelo Brozovic, who were already at the club, have created a strong core of players with elite-level European experience. Jesus has built on this foundation by playing a high-octane style. This attacking approach has allowed the team to dominate matches and is why it now has a goal difference of 27. Al-Hilal is on 18, having played one match less. The defence has also been better this season, but vulnerabilities remain. Al-Ahli, for instance, exploited Nassr’s high defensive line.
That, in turn, highlights a major issue—against other top sides, which are more likely to have a number of players who are technically sound, Nassr’s defence still struggles to contain fast counter-attacks. So, the season will be defined by how Nassr manage the big games. In previous years, Nassr has dominated smaller clubs before dropping off against direct rivals like Al-Hilal or Al-Ittihad. Also, the coach has to ensure that Ronaldo’s quest to reach 1,000 career goals does not tactical flexibility and necessary modifications in the team’s attacking patterns.
Even if Ronaldo never wins the Saudi league, his legacy in the country is secure as a result of the immense commercial impact he has had. But, for him, that would be a crushing failure. This season could be his last best chance.
