JAKARTA - Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo can finally smile happily. His decision to migrate from Europe to the Saudi Pro League five years ago has finally paid off. Early Friday, May 22 WIB, CR7, his nickname, managed to bring Al-Nassr to the Saudi Pro League this season.
Al-Nassr officially won the 2025-2026 Saudi Pro League after crushing Damac FC with a score of 4-1 in the final match. However, behind the public party in Riyadh, the biggest narrative of the night was the collapse of the invisible burden that had been weighing on the shoulders of a CR7 for the past half decade.
"This means a lot to us. Yalla Nassr," Cristiano Ronaldo wrote on his social media account, quoted by VOI.ID Friday morning.
For a player of Ronaldo's caliber, five years is a very long time for a "dry spell". Since the last time he lifted the Coppa Italia trophy with Juventus in 2021, the megastar's career has been filled with emotional draining dynamics.
The second period, which ended bitterly at Manchester United, to the sharp criticism that called him "finished" and "just looking for money" when he decided to move to Saudi Arabia in January 2023, became a daily meal. During his three years at Al-Nassr, he was only able to win the Arab Club Champions Cup, an unofficial tournament that is often ridiculed by his critics.
This season's Saudi Pro League title, which was won dramatically with a two-point advantage over eternal rivals Al-Hilal, is the absolute validation he needed. This is Ronaldo's first major trophy in the last five years. A proof that at the age of 41, his champion mentality has not faded.
This redemption was not achieved easily at all. The psychological burden after the painful 0-1 defeat from Japan's representative, Gamba Osaka, in the AFC Champions League 1 final just a few days earlier, had overshadowed the Al-Nassr squad. At the beginning of the first half against Damac FC, Al-Nassr even appeared nervous and under pressure.
However, this match seems destined to be a theater stage for the captain. After Sadio Mane broke the deadlock with a header in the 35th minute and Kingsley Coman widened the gap in the second half through a slick one-two, the match was tense when Damac narrowed the gap to 2-1 via a penalty from Morlaye Sylla.
In this moment of great pressure, Ronaldo took control of his own fate.
He demoralized the opponent through a clever free kick scheme from a narrow angle near the edge of the field - an unexpected execution that slid low past the crowd of players without being chased by the goalkeeper. Not long after, his predatory instincts spoke again when he snatched the ball in close range to score his second goal, sealing a 4-1 landslide victory.
Two goals in the decisive match, at the age of 41, to end a five-year title drought. This scenario feels too perfect, even for the standards of a Cristiano Ronaldo.
This victory makes Al-Hilal's positive result of winning 1-0 over Al-Fayha on the same night meaningless. Jorge Jesus's team had to watch Al-Nassr party at the top of the final standings.
For Al-Nassr, this is a trophy that saved their season. But for Cristiano Ronaldo, this is a moment where he managed to take off the heavy burden from his shoulders, silence the doubters, and once again assert, the king is not finished. It could be the next 2026 World Cup trophy.
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