«Al-Nassr», the opponent of Turkmenistan's Arkadag in the AFC-2 Champions League, successfully completed another match in the Saudi Arabian championship. In an away match of the 20th round, team of Jorge Jesus won against «Al-Riyadh», who are currently in 15th place, with a score of 1-0. In the 40th minute, Sadio Mané, a two-time reigning African champion, scored the winning goal with a beautiful volley into the near left corner, following an assist from João Félix.
The match took place without the participation of the main star of Saudi Pro League, Cristiano Ronaldo, who, according to foreign media reports, refused to play due to weak efforts of «Al-Nassr» to strengthen the squad compared to other leading clubs in the Saudi Arabian championship.
When the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and five-time UEFA Champions League winner moved to the Middle East, he was given guarantees that «Al-Nassr» would be the flagship club of Saudi Arabia, but in reality, the club has yet to win a single title. During the summer transfer window, «Al-Nassr» brought in players worth 100 million euros, while their main rival for the championship, «Al-Hilal», spent 45 million euros more, and recently signed «Ballon d'Or» winner Karim Benzema.
Cristiano Ronaldo has always been a perfectionist, and the fact that he has not won a single trophy in the last four and a half years is a blow to the ego of the Portuguese player. Ronaldo is no longer young – he will turn 41 on the 5th February, and his retirement from professional football is approaching with every game, while there are no trophies in sight on the horizon.
It is worth remembering that the Portuguese player did not end up in Saudi Arabia by chance in December 2022 – all the major European clubs that were offered his services had rejected him. The MLS remains an option, but no one there will be able to satisfy the demands of the Portuguese player. In the worst-case scenario, Ronaldo will have to hang up his boots after the World Cup, but he is living the dream of scoring 1000 goals. Ronaldo, who is valued at 12 million euros by the Transfermarkt website, needs to score 39 more goals to reach that milestone. It is noteworthy that in the current Saudi Arabian championship season, Cristiano Ronaldo has played 18 matches, in which he scored 17 goals and provided one assist. The current contract of Ronaldo with «Al Nassr» expires in the summer of 2027.
Whether Cristiano Ronaldo will manage to increase his goal tally in the two-legged tie against «Arkadag» will become clear very soon. The three-time champion of Turkmenistan will play the first match of the 1/8 finals of the AFC 2 Champions League against «Al Nassr» on the 11th of February at the Olympic stadium in Ashgabat, and the return match on the 18th of February in Riyadh.
Recently, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Hero-Arkadag, visited the Olympic village of the capital, where he inspected the preparations at the Olympic stadium for the upcoming international football match.
Hero-Arkadag noted that the victory of the «Arkadag» team, which has achieved great success on the international stage in recent years, will be a huge achievement for our country. If the football players play a draw, it will be, as they say, by chance.Even if the Turkmen athletes lose, the match will still be a true celebration for our people, as well as an incentive for new achievements.
