Cristiano Ronaldo finally has his first major title in Saudi Arabia. The 41-year-old scored twice as Al-Nassr beat Damac 4-1 on Thursday to clinch the Saudi Pro League title on the final day of the season, finishing two points ahead of rivals Al-Hilal to end a seven-year wait for the club’s 11th league championship.
It was the moment that had seemed to slip away the previous week, when a stoppage-time own goal from goalkeeper Bento gifted Al-Hilal a point and delayed the celebrations. On Thursday, there was no such drama in the end, though the match had its moments of tension before Ronaldo delivered the decisive blows.
Sadio Mane opened the scoring in the 34th minute with a precise header from a Joao Felix corner. Kingsley Coman doubled the lead in the 52nd minute with a curling effort from just outside the penalty area. Six minutes later, Damac pulled one back from the penalty spot to make it 2-1, and with Al-Hilal still playing their own final match, the tension inside Al-Awwal Park briefly rose. Then Ronaldo stepped up.
In the 63rd minute, he drove a free-kick through a crowded wall and into the net to restore the two-goal advantage. In the 81st minute, he pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty box and fired home to make it 4-1, completing his brace, sealing the title and bringing the stadium to its feet.
The two goals took Ronaldo’s career total to 973, leaving him 27 short of the 1,000 mark. He has now scored more than 100 goals for Al-Nassr across his three seasons at the club since joining in December 2022, and becomes the first player in history to win domestic league titles in Portugal, England, Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia.
The road to this title has been anything but straightforward. In each of Ronaldo’s first two seasons, Al-Nassr finished second in the league. In 2024-25 they ended up third. Along the way, the club lost four major finals: the King’s Cup against Al-Hilal on penalties, the Saudi Super Cup twice, and the AFC Champions League Two final just last week, beaten 1-0 by Japan’s Gamba Osaka by a single shot on target. That defeat had made Thursday’s coronation feel even more urgent, a final opportunity to ensure the season did not end in complete disappointment.
Al-Hilal, who finished the season unbeaten, were unable to overhaul the gap despite their remarkable consistency. The title goes to Al-Nassr and to Ronaldo, whose only other honour at the club, the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, carries no official FIFA recognition. This one does.
Manager Jorge Jesus, who is reported to be leaving the club at the end of the season to return to Fenerbahce, signed off with a title. Joao Felix, Mane and Coman all contributed to a performance that had everything: early control, a moment of jeopardy and a captain who delivered when it mattered most.
Ronaldo will now turn his attention to the 2026 World Cup with Portugal, where he will make his sixth appearance at the tournament in what is expected to be the final chapter of one of football’s greatest careers.
