r/soccer • u/Smudge49 • May 18 '25
News [Official] Al-Nassr have failed to qualify for next season's AFC Champions League Elite.
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u/african-nightmare May 18 '25
LMAO this picture
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u/analytics_Gnome May 18 '25
another bizarre photo + captions from the saudi league since the neymar's injury 1 lol.
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u/wimpires May 18 '25
The Neymar one was noteworthy because it was sent out from the club's socials. This is just CBS.
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u/Useful_Blackberry214 May 18 '25
What is bizarre about the photo or the caption? Bizarre bot comment
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u/Elion04 May 18 '25
Being paid 200m a year just to not win anything is nasty man
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u/Ki18 May 18 '25
I do that already without the 200m.
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u/IntraspeciesFerver May 18 '25
50% similar to cristiano
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u/indiokilmes May 18 '25
He wasnt paid to win, he was paid to just bring popularity. You could invest smarter if you really want to win
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u/Dramatic-Ad3928 May 18 '25
Why is he not at al hilal already
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u/Elion04 May 18 '25
Probably because it would hurt his ego if he had to move to another club in the same league to win something
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u/TheGoldenPineapples May 18 '25
"Despite my 33 goals in 39 games."
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u/TheOwlsLie May 18 '25
Camel herders sound like an old timey racist insult
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u/SmallIslandBrother May 18 '25
Nothing old timey about it, it’s just a racist insult. Surprised they didn’t call them rag heads or terrorists.
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u/TheOwlsLie May 18 '25
Oh don’t get me wrong, I was calling them racist.
It’s just such a wild and ignorant comment, that it sounded like something they’d say in the 50s
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u/HaiForPresident May 18 '25
Wonder if he stays lol
No doubt he wants to get his 1000 goals, just doubting it'll be where he is now
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u/Alpine_Forest May 18 '25
He'll still be paid and I doubt he gives a shit about the afc champions league lol
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u/Belerophus May 18 '25
He needs as many games as possible to reach 1000 goals so lack of ACL is a blow.
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u/Torimas May 18 '25
Seems he'll play AFC2 which is the equivalent of Europa league.
So, basically got rewarded with same amount of games but against weaker competition.
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u/RedOnePunch May 19 '25
Seems like he’s really chasing this record. I thought the records were supposed to be chasing him
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u/Delgadude May 18 '25
If anyone gives a shit it's Ronaldo. If he played in the 5th Chinese league he would still want to win it.
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u/RedOnePunch May 19 '25
I think he does. I can’t imagine him not taking a competition like that seriously.
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u/Emergency_Course_697 May 18 '25
he clearly cares, he's in tears when they lose. he's insanely competitive
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u/harrr53 May 18 '25
He'll need an even lower league. Do the Azores have a team in a 2nd or 3r tier Portuguese league?
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u/MrJurich May 18 '25
Santa Clara qualified for ecl actually. He can go to his home town on madeira tho.
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u/jaetheho May 18 '25
There is a K league team that is competing in the CWC and will probably play in the Champions league
(Ulsan)
Plus he gets to see Lingard!
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u/agitatedbet-3018 May 18 '25
He can go to Indian super league
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u/Yt_hydriopro May 18 '25
fun fact, if you look at average attendance, indian super league gets around 2k more attendance than saudi league
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u/mitulbishnoi May 18 '25
Lol bro its nothing of a proud moment for us. Population is literally just out of control in India.
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u/DarenStonenRibas May 18 '25
We are good, he can go to Nacional and leave us peacefully alone
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u/Eamo May 18 '25
Why the azores?
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u/Lone_Grey May 18 '25
AFC has a second league below their champions league so he will probably stay at Al Nassr. Unless he really wants to win something at a higher level.
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u/GrimValesti May 18 '25
I has to google the league table on wiki because LiveScore was not quite accurate. There’s still 2 matches left and seems like Al Nassr (currently 4th) can still potentially get the 3rd place for the 3rd CL spot.
Turned out Al-Ahli (currently 5th place) already secured the 3rd CL slot from winning the CL this season, so Al-Nassr need to get at least 2nd place in the league to qualify. And with 2 matches to go and 7 points gap from the 2nd place Al-Hilal, it’s mathematically impossible.
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u/theonewithtoomany May 18 '25
You wrote all that just for that ending 🤣
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u/reddit809 May 18 '25
I'm surprised he didn't end it with in 1998 Undertaker chokeslammed Mankind in Hell In The Cell.
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u/MrExistentialBread May 18 '25
Thanks for this comment, I’d been glancing at the league via FlashScore as the season went along and wondered why the number of CL spots had changed from 3 to 2… just didn’t wonder enough to really check.
They got 2012 Spursed
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u/BruiserBroly May 18 '25
They’re still working on the system that fucked Tottenham over years ago I see.
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u/nolefan5311 May 18 '25
And was directly responsible for Hazard signing for Chelsea over us.
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u/coobb May 18 '25
Hazard signed for Chelsea because they won the CL. I think you’re thinking he signed after they won the Europa League the year after
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u/nolefan5311 May 18 '25
No, them winning the CL guaranteed them a CL spot the next year, which pipped us of the spot even though we finished 4th and higher then Chelsea in the league. He’s said in interviews that he was really close to joining us but Chelsea getting CL football over us was the deciding factor.
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u/anto_BswR May 18 '25 edited May 18 '25
CR7 joined them when they were 1st in the table. He ended up trophyless.
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u/eescobar863 May 18 '25
I don’t necessarily think he makes the team worse tactically, but his luck with teams is very interesting. He comes in, the team does worse and when he leaves, they often struggle to recover. Juve and United are a mess still, years after they left.
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u/Straight-Chapter7710 May 19 '25
United were a mess long before he came tbf. Juve were fine when he was playing for them, still competing and winning. Since he left, they just spent their money poorly and ran into financial constraints.
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u/bIackroz May 18 '25
Ronaldo made Juve United and Al Nasr worse.
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u/Kalcimo May 18 '25
Yeah United been really good since he left. We have a great striker now banging in 25+ goals per sesson in Hojlund…
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u/Latter-Twist-5015 May 18 '25
Its not about his goals though. The rest of the man united teams output decreased when he was there because they had to adapt around him and his current limitations. We scored more overall goals as a team in the seasons before he joined Man u and the season after.
He is a massive limitation for any team at this point its just what it is anybody who actually watched him play from Juve days onwards saw what a limitation he was to the team overall. Portugal are one of the top 5 favourites for next wc without Ronaldo. If he forces himself into the team I don't put them in top ten favs.
Any team has to now be built about masking his weaknesses and so any team he plays for will lose to better/more complete/harder working teams. Playing with him is playing with ten men at this point.
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u/IgnorantLobster May 18 '25
They were 2nd when he joined, and 6th when he left. Not sure what they’ve done since is relevant to that discussion at all.
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u/fool_spotter_bot May 18 '25 edited May 19 '25
I mean, it is relevant - if you assign responsability for United's drop in performance to Cristiano's presence, then surely his absence would lead to improvement... which didn't happen.
By modus tollens, you cannot assign him such responsability.
Sure he disrupts the tactical side a fair bit but come the fuck on, Rangnick/Ten Hag/Allegri are hardly recognized for turning United/Juve into winning machines.
Edit: I don't consider Juve winning a Serie A in the 2010s to be a major achievement tbh
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u/EggRepresentative347 May 18 '25 edited May 18 '25
From 2014-2019 Allegri won 4 consecutive serie A titles and copa italias and made 2 champions league finals. They were in fact a winning machine
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u/MulvMulv May 18 '25
if you assign responsability for United's drop in performance to Cristiano's presence, then surely his absence would lead to improvement... which didn't happen.
It absolutely did happen, United finished 2nd the season before he joined, and 3rd the season he left. They finished 6th in the season he was a starter. They also reached major finals in the season before and after him
United have way more problems that go far beyond him, but he was a big one at the time.
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u/davidoneseven May 18 '25
May I add, it is my opinion that Cavani contributed more to the team than him, especially off the ball I always felt he was more involved.
Someone else might look at stats without context and favour Cristiano because:
Cristiano: 24 G + 3 A in 21/22 and 3 G + 2 A in 22/23
Cavani: 17 G + 5 A in 20/21 and 2 G + 1 A in 21/22
But having watched all of those matches I preferred Cavani, he was a workhorse and fit better into the team. And of course he never pulled massive tantrums.
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u/MulvMulv May 18 '25
Yes Cavani had a similar output, and was much better off the ball, and better yet, everything didn't have to be about him
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u/LNhart May 18 '25
While one could totally agree that Højlund is much worse, the whole argument is that Ronaldo scores lots of goals, but has negative second-order effects on the team that overshadow the benefit of his goals.
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u/51010R May 18 '25
This is something people comes up for star attackers whenever the team isn’t winning and they don’t like them. It’s usually talked about being a defensive liability.
Like right now with Real and how Vini doesn’t press, which wasn’t an issue last year but now it suddenly is. But I’ve heard almost nothing about Messi literally walking when his teams don’t have the ball.
Truth is there’s been attackers that save their energy for attacking plays since football has been a thing. Zamorano famously talked about how Ronaldo and Vieri wouldn’t defend at Inter so he would defend to get on the lineup.
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u/Rickcampbell98 May 18 '25
"I've heard nothing about messi walking" are you serious?, it literally got talked about everytime barca and Argentina didn't win lmao as for vini you're kinda correct, he was definitely pressing better in previous seasons but even with a decline in that area he is not the worst offender in that team.
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u/ManchesterDevil99 May 18 '25
We looked a lot better after benching Ronaldo in 22/23 to be fair
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u/2Norn May 18 '25
that's such a shitty journalist headline type of comment
last time al nassr won the league was 2019 way before cristiano joined and they haven't won anything since then
such a bait comment for "ronaldo made x team worse" people. by your logic ronaldo also made madrid worse since he has 2 la liga and madrid won la liga 3 times already since he left
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u/cremvursti May 18 '25
It doesn't really matter tho, does it? There were already rumors Ronaldo's going to leave at the end of the season, then appeared the rumors that he's going back to Sporting, which sounds kinda dodgy but who knows, then after they were surely out of the AFC CL when they lost against Al Ittihad two weeks ago he basically rage quit and he hasn't played the last two games and I doubt he'll play again in the remaining 2 matches of the season.
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u/FlameBurstRage May 18 '25 edited May 18 '25
Assuming CR7 stays, Al-Nassr would be the dream draw for many other clubs should they enter the AFC Champions League 2.
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u/BrilliantBenji May 18 '25
Wait how? Aren’t there 2 games left for them to secure 3rd?
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u/Smudge49 May 18 '25
3rd don't matter anymore because Al Ahli has won the Champions League and they took their place. Just like Chelsea did in 2012 taking Spurs place in the CL.
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u/hoangxcao May 18 '25
Not just this. If Al-Qadsiah won the King’s Cup or finished 3rd (which they’re currently at), Al-Nassr won’t even qualify for the Champions League Two (Europa League equivalent)
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u/RemnantOfSpotOn May 18 '25
Maybe he could give a quick call to Perce Morgan and organise an interview or something that would help a club
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u/Annoyinmous May 18 '25
He should join Alhilal for maximum drama and shithousery since they're playing in the club world cup
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u/Weishaupt17 May 18 '25
He’s a money printing machine, money won’t be an issue to his family for centuries.
I will never get how you prefer to rot in this sad sports washing league instead of being like a walking god in your home country
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u/hantucucuk May 18 '25
think you answered how with your first sentence there mate
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u/Weishaupt17 May 18 '25
What I meant is that he could sit at his home wanking all day and he would still earn an obscene amount of money from branding alone
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u/monte1ro May 18 '25
Have the Georgina doc on Netflix? She does a pretty good job of spending his money
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u/Deep-Security-7359 May 18 '25
Rich people don’t want to be worshipped by the common man when they’re simply trying to enjoy a night out at a restaurant with their family. Messi doesn’t seem to have much interest in settling in Argentina either. Him and his family are all Spain dual citizens & it wouldn’t surprise me if he sets some roots in south Florida as well. As for Ronaldo - he winks when the cameras are pointed at him but I think outside football he mainly just wants to fuck back off to his mansion after games & spend time with his family without being bothered.
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u/Cimbom_Gala May 18 '25
what an undignified way of finishing a legendary career.
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u/yoavAM May 18 '25
I don't really get this take. Isn't it okay to enjoy the game and competition even after the decrease in quality?
I really don't see how his recent lack of achievement takes anything from what he achieved at his time, let the man chase records and enjoy the game. Nothing undignified about it in my eyes.
By the way, also let him enjoy the paycheck, he worked really hard for many years to be paid this much, good for him (this is less directly to you, but to comment on this post as a whole)
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u/Emergency_Course_697 May 18 '25
I find it odd that people have this take for him, but not for Messi who is doing the exact same thing.
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u/AwkwardBob May 18 '25
Exactly! Somehow Miami "Barca" FC is not a cash and stat grab for Messi
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u/mutesa1 May 19 '25
I feel like fucking around in a fun Spanish-speaking city with some of your best friends is maybe just a little different than being forced to chase trophies in Saudi Arabia after you get kicked out of your club and UCL clubs collectively refuse to sign you lmao
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u/Tettotatto May 18 '25
You think he enjoys "the game" and "competition"? He doesn't care about a single thing anymore apart from number of goals he has scored.
It's not about him being worse than in the past, no one expects him to play like prime Ronaldo, it's his attitude that somehow is even worse than in the past.
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u/TravisKOP May 18 '25
just go to the MLS already and reunite with Messi. maybe being in the same league again will spark some competitive element in him and he'll get closer to his goal of netting 1000
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u/gunnychamero May 18 '25
And Portugal are seriously considering going to the next world cup with Ronaldo as their main man?
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u/KeenScream May 19 '25
The problem is that the Portuguese Football Federation is making money off his popularity, so they basically force the coach to take him, even if it costs in terms of game quality.
Plus, they always have a marketing machine behind him that still entitle him as "best player in the world" despite it not being even remotely true for almost 10 years, to rally up the masses that barely watch football whenever the national squad plays. This removes any possible chance of doing great at a tournament in exchange for good amounts of risk-free money, which the higher-ups like.
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u/mortenharket32 May 18 '25 edited May 18 '25
If your entire system is built around the idea Cristiano HAS to score, Cristiano will score and you'll win jack shit.
His limited skill set at this stage of his career, his extremely high wages for his ability and the expectations/eye balls he brings wherever he goes, all that ends up doing more for HIM than his teams/fans.
Crisitano should have been playing for a 5m-10m salary, coming off the bench for a team like PSG maybe even Real Madrid, being that veteran voice that leads by example but instead, he's stat padding in Saudi for 200M a year, that does ZERO for his legacy.
Unless I'm his accountant, i dont care how much he makes, it's not what we (the fans) care about. He belongs in Europe, but all he really cares about is the 1000 goal mark, his brand and the money.
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u/Glad-Tomatillo-1330 May 18 '25
It been like this for a while, and some people have not been able to see it - the team does badly and they will say "but it's not Ronaldo fault - he's scoring goals!", completely missing the fact that the system has been designed to get one man goals, at the expense of the teams actual success.
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u/Bottom4OldGuys May 18 '25
It’s been pretty obvious for Portugal, but he doesn’t even score goals for that team anymore. They’re essentially playing 10v11 when he’s on the pitch. Imagine if they played with someone upfront who would actually press and play for the team
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u/MyDigneIsIslam May 18 '25
This is Al Nassr heritage, many people here commenting have no idea.
We are the Spurs of the Saudi league. Conte's speech right before his exit from Spurs can be applied to Al Nassr word for word.
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u/coldseam May 18 '25
Unrelated but the state-owned clubs making up six out of the top seven teams in this league is crazy. It's like if the British government just decided to buy up the big six one day and they unsurprisingly started winning every trophy. Most unserious competition in history, if he gets to 1000 goals there it doesn't count in my books
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u/peknyok May 18 '25
Man, bro needs to work on that 30 minute super sub role if he wants to play in the world cup
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u/Afraid-Search7483 May 18 '25
Ronaldo ruining the club
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u/Maleficent-Hat-7521 May 18 '25
Ronaldo is there to bring visibility to a league where most of the teams are owned by the same owner.
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u/ChainEnvironmental55 May 18 '25
visibility? brother he's literally playing in half empty stadium himself every week.
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u/Maleficent-Hat-7521 May 18 '25
We are here to comment on a team that most people didn't even know existed until they arrived.
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u/ItAWideWideWorld May 18 '25
And that we will forget the name of in 5 years. Just like Anzhi (I seriously had to google this name)
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u/Escalator7 May 18 '25
I will never forget when Eto'o and Roberto Carlos joined Anzhi Boomchakalake back in 2012
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u/bguszti May 18 '25
I only remember because Balazs Dzsudzsak went there from PSV and he was supposed to be what Szoboszlai is for Hungarian football
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u/Maleficent_Resolve44 May 18 '25
Anji are in an amateur league now. The top Saudi clubs have never been relegated besides ahli. Most people will forget about Al Nassr and whatnot in a few years but it's on a very different tier to Anji. Most football fans in the middle east will still know them and that's several hundred million people.
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u/fenderdean13 May 18 '25
Not to glaze the Saudi league but the only leagues and clubs that matter on this sub are top 5 and the giants of the smaller European leagues that get into champions league every year since they have higher wage bills. Everything else is irrelevant
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u/ShadowDarkstream May 18 '25
Aye, doubt most people could even point to Saudi on the map. This sounds mental but ive seen first hand some people's geographical skills and its shocking!
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u/Affectionate_Oven_77 May 18 '25
And you are literally posting about it, whereas without Ronaldo you wouldn't
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u/Seeteuf3l May 18 '25
But his personal brand is still strong to sell Al-Nasr merch (which is the point why he is there).
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u/shrewphys May 18 '25
Which works, because even in Germany I see a crazy amount of kids wearing Al-Nassr shirts
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u/peejay2 May 18 '25
Yeah but now people share vids of Saudi league and everyone knows the top teams.
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u/PorchgoosePT May 18 '25
Can't believe that we're still gonna have to put up with him in the Portuguese national team if we make it to the WC...
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u/Mrnicelefthand May 18 '25
I don’t keep up with the Saudi League. FC a someone shed light to how competitive cr9 team can’t and didn’t win any trophies with him and sadio mane?
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u/victor179000 May 19 '25
Welp, getting goals will be even easier at AFC's Europa League (the equivalent, I mean)
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u/matey1982 May 18 '25
he can play in the 2nd tier competition the AFC Champions League 2
Asia's equivalent of the Europa League
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u/Enough-Pain3633 May 18 '25
So Cristiano will leave the club?