Cristiano Ronaldo finally made his Al-Nassr debut on Sunday after serving a two-match ban following his free transfer from Manchester United earlier this month.
The 37-year-old has come under some criticism for making the lucrative £175million-a-year move to Saudi Arabia after previously stating he wanted to finish his career at the ‘very top’.
But following his debut at the weekend, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner became the biggest star to ever grace the Saudi Pro League and it’s fair to say the standard of opponents will be somewhat lower than what he is used to. But just who will Ronaldo be coming against with his new club? Sportsmail takes a look…
Cristiano Ronaldo made his long-awaited Al-Nassr debut in a 1-0 win over Al Ettifaq on Sunday
Ronaldo completed his lucrative move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr earlier this month
Odion Ighalo
Perhaps Cristiano Ronaldo’s biggest competition for the golden boot is another former Manchester United forward. Ighalo had a brief but eventful loan with the Red Devils before making the move to Saudi, first joining Al Shabab then signing for Al-Hilal six months later.
Ighalo scored 24 goals in 31 league games in his first season and is the division’s current top scorer having netted seven times this term.
The 33-year-old has set the example for Ronaldo to follow.
Ighalo enjoyed a fruitful spell in the Premier League with Watford before his United return
Ever Banega
The Argentine midfielder made the surprising but lucrative move to Al-Shabab in 2020 despite still being a regular for Sevilla.
Banega scored seven goals in his first campaign and six in his second, but is yet to get off the mark this season.
The 34-year-old is one of the most experienced players in the division having enjoyed spells with Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan to name a few.
Following spells at Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Sevilla Ever Banega now plays in Saudi
Matheus Pereira
One of the big stars of the Saudi league, West Brom fans will remember Pereira from his two-year spell with the club from 2019-2021.
The attacking midfielder showed promise with 11 goals in the 2020-21 Premier League season but it was not enough to prevent the Baggies relegation back to the Championship.
Pereira left that summer to join Al-Hilal with then West Brom manager Valerien Ismael accusing him of ‘not being committed’, comments which the 26-year-old branded…