Ronaldo’s double secures Saudi Pro League title for Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Al-Nassr clinched the Saudi Pro League title with a 4-1 victory over Damac on Thursday, ending his long wait for a domestic trophy.

A trademark free-kick and a close-range finish in the final half-hour secured the win Al-Nassr needed on the last night of the season, with Al Hilal finishing two points behind.

Ronaldo, 41, who had not won a major club trophy since winning Serie A with Juventus in 2020, wept as he watched the final minutes from the bench after arriving in Saudi Arabia in 2023 to great acclaim.

He adds the Saudi championship to his English, Spanish and Italian titles and five Champions League medals.

Al-Nassr took a 2-0 lead but Damac pulled one back before Ronaldo’s free-kick in the 63rd minute evaded the goalkeeper and a crowded area to find the far corner.

He struck again nine minutes from time, receiving a cut-back near the six-yard box and smashing the ball high into the net.

Next up for the all-time leading men’s international goalscorer, with 143 goals, is a sixth World Cup appearance after he was named in Portugal’s squad this week.

Ronaldo opened the door to a series of high-value Saudi signings when he joined Al-Nassr in January 2023, following an unhappy second spell at Manchester United.

Neymar and Karim Benzema were among those who followed after Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half-year deal estimated at $232 million, extended for two years in June 2025.

The stated aim was to transform the Pro League into one of the world’s top five football competitions based on player quality, stadium attendance and commercial success, though international interest has been muted.

In December 2024, Saudi Arabia was confirmed as host of the 2034 World Cup, a coup as it seeks to diversify its economy away from oil and attract business and tourists partly through sports.

With a record 664 million Instagram followers, Ronaldo has been a highly visible ambassador as Saudi Arabia tries to shed its ultra-conservative image.

The world’s largest oil exporter and home of Islam has faced accusations of “sportswashing” — using sport to deflect human rights criticism — as it has invested in Formula 1, golf, boxing and tennis alongside football.

Some of the more extravagant spending on economic diversification, including sprawling tourist developments and NEOM, a futuristic desert city, is being scaled back.

This month, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it was exiting the breakaway LIV Golf tour, after reportedly investing more than $5 billion into a venture that split the sport.

Expensive football signings have also declined, with the stream of high-value transfers slowing to a trickle.

Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer in his first two seasons, with his career tally now at 973, tantalizingly close to the 1,000-goal milestone.

His Saudi stint has not always been smooth. In 2024, he was left in tears when Al-Nassr lost the King’s Cup final to Al Hilal on penalties, denying him his first Saudi title.

This season, he disappeared from Al-Nassr’s lineup for three games in an apparent protest over Benzema’s transfer to rival team Al Hilal.

Al Hilal and Al-Nassr were among the stable of Saudi teams owned by the Public Investment Fund, the country’s $900 billion sovereign wealth fund.

Before Thursday, Ronaldo’s only silverware with Al-Nassr was the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup. He was also disappointed on Saturday when Al-Nassr lost to Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Two final.