The Saudi Pro League kicks off this week with new contenders, storylines and a whole lot more excitement to come.
Just as the massive influx of Europe’s best heading into the Arabian Peninsula last year, the same goes for this season as the SPL continues to gain popularity among the world of football.
The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nacho Fernandez and David Ospina join the illustrious list of players already competing in the Kingdom’s top flight.
Some changes will also be brought ahead of the new season, in hopes of boosting national and international attention to the league.
This SBOTOP writer is keen to discuss with you the details of these changes, but there’s one glaring storyline for me that sticks out like a sore thumb. And it’s got something to do with one of the greatest—if not the greatest—footballer of all time.
Will this finally be the year that Cristiano Ronaldo finally conquers Saudi Arabia? Or will he shed yet more tears in the hands of his rivals?
Well, let’s find out, shall we?
Domestic drought
The 39-year-old Portuguese superstar moved to Al-Nassr to keep doing one thing and one thing alone: win titles.
Despite his age and the noticeable decline in athletic capabilities, CR7 remains a cut above most of the footballers in the Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo finished with 14 goals in 16 league matches when he joined Al-Nassr halfway through their campaign in 2022/23. However, the club ended the year second—five points behind Al-Ittihad.
Al-Nassr were victorious, however, in the Arab Club Champions Cup—against Al-Hilal, no less—with Ronaldo scoring a brace to lift his first regional title with the club.
The following year, a strong title charge was mounted by CR7 and co., with the aid of additional help from some of Europe’s biggest names.
Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte, Otavio and Marcelo Brozovic were signed, yet the club failed to reach their end goal of winning any of the domestic trophies.
Cristiano finished the year as the top scorer with 35 goals and 11 assists, but had to come to terms with the fact he finished second against rivals Al-Hilal on three different occasions (SPL, King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup).
Earlier this month was another chance for Ronaldo to topple the Kingdom’s mightiest club as the two tussled for the Saudi Super Cup.
Cristiano opened the scoring right before the end of the first half, tapping in from close range to give his club a 1-0 lead.
But a second-half disasterclass where Al-Hilal scored four goals in the span of 17 minutes rid Al-Nassr the chance to beat their rivals to a silverware.
And it seems like there’s still trouble on the way.
According to Saudi Pro League 2024 updates, Sadio Mane is keen on leaving the club as their relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo turns sour.
Reports are saying that the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich talisman would prefer a move to Al-Ittihad, where he has the chance to play with Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho and Moussa Diaby.
Mane leaving would deal a huge blow to Al-Nassr’s hopes of toppling Al-Hilal’s dominance in the Kingdom.
What to expect in the new season?
One of the most exciting inclusions to the upcoming Saudi Pro League campaign is the addition of ‘magic rounds.’
Basically, there will be weeks wherein various derbies across the league will be played. Riyadh (Al-Hilal vs Al-Nassr), Jeddah (Al-Ittihad vs Al-Ahli) and the Eastern Province (Al-Ettifaq vs Al-Qadsiah) are the match-ups that will feature on the schedule allotted by the league.
These fixtures will take place on Matchweeks 9 and 26.
Another change to expect is the league targeting to acquire younger talents, with an added focus on keeping their squads younger.
The league announced this season plans to lower the average age of signed players from 29 to 27.5 years. There are also plans to cut squads from 30 to 25 players to minimise the negative effect of extremely deep benches and give more opportunities to newer players.
More investments will also be made available to other teams as a part of the ‘Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project.’ This will allow new investments for other clubs that will help them compete with the league’s top dogs.
But as things stand, it’s looking likely that Al-Hilal will once more sweep the honours in the Kingdom. And with Neymar nearing his return, the Saudi Pro League 2024 odds look to swing in their favour.
Perhaps, Cristiano will have to wait a tad longer.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
