‘Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t like coming second!’ - Al-Nassr told what they must do in order to deliver on title dreams of demanding CR7

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo has added just one trophy to his collection since moving to the Middle East in 2023. Remarkable individual standards have been maintained, with 84 goals recorded through 93 appearances, but collective success has been hard to come by.

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That is proving to the case again in 2024-25, with Al-Nassr sat fourth in the Saudi Pro League through 17 games – eight points adrift of table-topping arch-rivals Al-Hilal. Efforts are, however, being made to get more big-money transfers pushed through.

Piers Morgan, who is a close friend of Ronaldo having interviewed him on several occasions, has told Al-Nassr’s official media of what needs to happen in order to satisfy the most demanding of characters: “Al-Nassr, clearly at the moment, are not quite firing how I think Cristiano would like them to.

“Probably need a few new players coming in to help him, and then they can really compete to win the title. I know Cristiano, he wants to win the league. He doesn’t like coming second, or third, or fourth. He wants to win. Need a few more winners in that team and you can do it.”

While Ronaldo will be disappointed at missing out on major honours, the evergreen 39-year-old is expected to agree a 12-month extension to his record-breaking contract in Riyadh – taking him through to the summer of 2026 and the next World Cup finals.