Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, Senegalese forward Sadio Mane, and the rest of Al Nassr’s big-money stars were found changing in a dressing room that was quite similar to the ones in the low-tier leagues.
SPL is still splashing out huge wages and fees on quite a few star players. The top four sides have reportedly been given an unlimited budget as they are primarily controlled by Saudi Arabia’s PIF.
However, not all teams in the SPL have the same level of finances and facilities. Ronaldo and Co. played away against Al Fateh on Friday night. They won the match with an emphatic scoreline of 5-0, thanks to CR7’s hat trick and Mane’s brace.
All that money on wages and their dressing room doesn’t even come close to a Sunday league dressing room 😭 https://t.co/on2zLBedaA
— 𝐎𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐣 🇨🇿 (@TheCzechLad) August 25, 2023
I thought the saudi league was rich pic.twitter.com/cuECUZ824Y
— Urbanplugg⛩️ (@Chosky_X) August 25, 2023
All that money and this is your away dressing room https://t.co/oHrqgdVKu5
— FatalLFC (@Fatal_LFC) August 25, 2023
The difference in class wasn’t just visible in the score line. The images of the away dressing room at Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium that went viral also showed a huge difference in the class of infrastructure between both teams. The dressing room was nothing like Al Nassr‘s. Even the shirts were laid out on chairs that seemed to have been taken straight from some conference room.
Fans seem to be pretty disappointed with the league after witnessing the huge difference in the infrastructure. Many even took to the internet to speak their hearts out. One fan wrote, “I thought the Saudi league was rich.” Another fan commented, “Spent billions on washed-up players but zero infrastructure.” A third fan went on to say, “All that money and this is your away dressing room.”
With the huge investment in teams and bolstering their squads, fans also expect the clubs to upgrade their infrastructures. It is to be seen if, after so much criticism, SPL decides to improve the facilities or will all be the same after the the air around this matter cools down.
Ronaldo’s Al Nassr beat Shabab Al Ahil to reach the Asia Cup group stage
Saudi side Al Nassr thrashed opponents Shabab Al Ahil in a 4-2 scoreline in Riyadh on Tuesday (August 22) to reach the group stages of the Asia Cup. This would be the first time for the club’s star Ronaldo to ever play in an Asia tournament.
The Saudi giants took the lead in the 11th minute of the match from Anderson Talisca‘s goal. He scored with a header from Marcelo Brozovic’s corner. But Al Ahil quite instantly changed the whole scenario of the goal by first scoring the equalizer in the 18th minute and then taking the lead in the 45th minute. Both goals were scored by Yahya Al Ghassani.
✨Ronaldo hat-trick⚽️🚀
Al Nassr 5 – 0
pic.twitter.com/mkbSrvOBLb— ༒𝕾𝖆𝖒✨ (@_SotOSam) August 25, 2023
However, Al Nassr star Sultan Al Ghannam’s goal from the header in the 88th minute. This was followed by Talisca’s second goal which came in the last five minutes of the injury time. This helped Al Nassr go 3-2 and acquire the lead back. It was the former Inter Milan man who sealed the match with a goal from Ronaldo’s pass in the last two minutes of the match.
Al Nassr is now set to face the other powerhouse in the Asia Cup. It is to be seen Al Nassr can keep up their good winning stretch and try to win the tournament. Or will their run finally come to an end?