'Great example' Cristiano Ronaldo showered with praise by Jorge Jesus after Al-Nassr's 'beautiful victory' over Al-Ittihad as CR7 closes in on first Saudi trophy

Portugal international Ronaldo inched one step closer to his first trophy in Saudi Arabia after helping Al-Nassr beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 on Tuesday. Following the victory, manager Jesus stressed how great a role model the ex-Manchester United star is.

He said, via Ojogo: "Ronaldo is a great example for world football. He's 40 years old and delivers athletic and physical performances. And let's not forget that 80% of the fans in the stadium are here because of Ronaldo. Al-Nassr deserves to have this global star."

Jesus has only been Al-Nassr's manager for a matter of weeks but he is once again singing the praises of the former Real Madrid striker. Very few footballers have continued playing into their 40s but Ronaldo is bucking the trend. He will go down as one of the game's greatest ever players, and now he wants to secure his first bit of silverware at Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo's team will now wait to see which of Al-Ahli or Al-Qadisiyah makes it to the Saudi Super Cup final on Saturday. Before then, Jesus hopes his players can recover for that showpiece event.

He added: "This game left us physically exhausted, the humidity was very high, and we played with ten men, but it was a beautiful victory that gives the team a lot of confidence. Al Ittihad created one chance and didn't generate many more after that."