Surprise package Al-Hilal are reaping the benefits of avoiding Cristiano Ronaldo sideshow at the Club World Cup

Ronaldo unquestionably played a pivotal part in Al-Hilal's success. If he hadn't joined Al-Nassr in January 2023, nowhere near as many high-profile players would have subsequently followed him to the Middle East. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund may have stumped up the cash, but Ronaldo provided the 'credibility' the Saudi Pro League so desperately required.

His mere presence at Al-Awwal Park attracted the attention of his millions and millions of fans all around the world, as well as a number of other stars seeking one last lucrative payday - including Neymar. Al-Hilal's acquisition of Brazil's all-time leading goal-scorer was essentially their response to city rivals Al-Nassr landing Ronaldo. Unfortunately, Neymar proved a colossal waste of money, scoring just one goal in seven appearances during an 18-month stay that cost the club almost $200 million in fees and wages.

However, while investing such a massive amount of money in the notoriously fragile forward proved a disastrous decision, at least from a sporting perspective, Al-Hilal's other stellar signings from the summer of 2023 have nearly all delivered. Indeed, The Blue Waves were almost immediately rewarded for targeting players that still had plenty left to offer at the highest level.

A formidable team containing international-level performers such as Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrovic left Ronaldo's Al-Nassr trailing in their wake as they won the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League title without losing a single game.

Al-Hilal failed to retain their title last season, while they were also upset by eventual winners Al-Ahli in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League, resulting in the dismissal of Jorge Jesus as coach. However, they remained quietly optimistic about their chances of reaching the last 16 of Infantino's radically revamped Club World Cup - and with good reason.

For starters, Al-Hilal had deepened their pool of talent with the additions of Joao Cancelo and Marcos Leonardo before finally ridding themselves of Neymar during the January transfer window. But even more significantly, the four-time time champions of Asia managed to find a remarkable replacement for Jesus just before the start of the Club World Cup.

It's still not entirely clear when exactly Simone Inzaghi agreed to take charge of Al-Hilal, and it remains a touchy subject among Inter fans, some of whom suspect the decision was taken before the Champions League final on June 1, and thus contributed to the Nerazzurri’s calamitous 5-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in Munich. However, all we know for certain is that Al-Hilal’s willingness to make the former Lazio striker one of the highest-paid coaches on the planet is already reaping rewards.

They certainly demanded a lot from Inzaghi. "This season we came off second [in the Saudi Pro League] - that's below par for what is expected from us," Al-Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada told the BBC. "And, very simply, what we expect from the new coach is that he helps us to win again and to [reclaim] our championship."

What Calzada & Co. did not expect, though, was for Inzaghi to almost instantaneously transform the team into Club World Cup contenders - and yet that's exactly what he's done.

Inzaghi only took charge of Al-Hilal on June 4 - precisely two weeks before their daunting tournament opener against Real Madrid - but it didn’t take him long to make his presence felt. Having a stellar CV meant the dressing room was behind him from the get-go, but an undefeated run through the group stage - sparked by a surprise but fully-deserved 1-1 draw with Los Blancos - provided immediate validation of the new boss’ methods.

"Inzaghi is a top coach," former Napoli centre-back Koulibaly told FIFA after the 2-0 win over Pachuca that sealed a spot in the knockout stage. "I got to know him in Italy and played against his teams a lot. He had a great run with Inter, making it to the Champions League final twice and winning the Scudetto. We haven't worked with him much in training, but his ideas are clear. He gets us to watch plenty of videos, and we chat a lot about tactics. Now we're seeing the impact on the pitch."

Consequently, Koulibaly was optimistic about his side’s chances of defeating the mighty Manchester City in the last 16, and was clearly irked by the idea that they were there just to make up the numbers: "We know that they are one of the best teams in the world, but we need to believe in ourselves. We're not here on holiday! We're here to win matches. We know it won't be easy, but it's only 90 minutes or so. If we can keep that in mind, I truly believe we can do something special."

And he was right.

Inzaghi described the scale of the challenge that lay before his side in Orlando on Monday as akin to climbing Mount Everest without oxygen.

"But we were great," he said. "We did our best and deserved the win." Even Pep Guardiola agreed, after seeing his even more expensively assembled side repeatedly torn to shreds on transitions during a shock 4-3 loss.

Former England winger Andros Townsend claimed on DAZN, "Al-Hilal have shocked the world", and while that may have been a slight exaggeration, the result certainly ranks as one of the most significant in the history of Saudi Arabian football - as underlined by the fact that it ended a 20-game winless run for Asian teams against European opposition in FIFA club competition.

For the likes of Milinkovic-Savic, meanwhile, reaching the quarter-finals, where Al-Hilal will next face Fluminense, also represents a form of vindication, the perfect response to those of us who had criticised the Serb and several others for leaving one of Europe's 'Big Five' leagues to spend their peak years in the Pro League.

"Let's see if they will criticise us now," the former Lazio midfielder said. "We showed them that the Saudi League is not like how they speak about it."

It has certainly cast the competition in a far more valuable light. An unsurprisingly ecstatic Infantino even went so far as to hail PIF-backed Al-Hilal beating Abu Dhabi-funded City as the dawn of a "NEW ERA OF CLUB FOOTBALL".

Again, that's probably a tad hyperbolic, but he's right in a way, as what the 'oil-money derby' did prove is that Saudi sides are not just capable of challenging Premier League clubs in the transfer market. Evidently, they can also now compete with them on the field - particularly if they, much like Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain, continue to focus more on sensible signings rather than bling-bling buys.

Indeed, the most interesting aspect of Al-Hilal's Stateside success is that they've looked like a real team rather than a group of money-driven mercenaries.

Unlike Neymar, Ronaldo has actually proven money well spent by the PIF having proven to be the perfect poster boy for the Pro League, racking up nearly as many goals for Al-Nassr as he has positive social media posts about life in Saudi Arabia. But his opportunistic addition to the Al-Hilal squad for the Club World Cup would have almost certainly had a negative impact on the league.

"As much as I respect Ronaldo as a huge player, as we all recognise he is, it's certainly completely counter-intuitive that you bring the biggest player of your biggest opponent to play with you," Calzada pointed out. "And even more so when it's only for three to four weeks."

Essentially, a rather cynical loan deal would have hurt the Saudi brand, as well as Al-Hilal's hopes of reaching the knockout stage. Ronaldo may have scored freely since arriving in Riyadh, but he hasn't won any major trophies. In that sense, signing the increasingly immobile striker really wasn't worth the risk - or all of the media attention that would have come with it.

Al-Hilal faced enough disruption as it was with a new coach coming in a fortnight before their first game; adding arguably the world's most famous face into the mix would have made for a most unwelcome distraction for Inzaghi and his players as they attempted to focus on the rather sizable task at hand.

Of course, Al-Hilal owe Ronaldo a debt of gratitude. They simply wouldn't be where they are today were it not for the Portuguese trailblazer, who effectively put the Pro League on the map. However, Al-Hilal managed to scale Everest without him, and that historic achievement only strengthens the growing feeling that Saudi Arabia's plan to conquer the footballing world is more achievable than initially thought.