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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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| Source=Alnasr SNS Capture |
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'Immortal Superstar' If Cristiano Ronaldo (40) stays with his current team, Al Nasr, he will not be able to enjoy the Champions League next season.
Al Nasr drew 1-1 at home in the 32nd round of the Saudi Professional League (SPL) in the 2024-2025 season at Mrsul Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the 17th (local time). With Ronaldo missing two consecutive games due to condition problems, Otavio's first goal in the sixth minute of the second half led, but he missed the victory by dedicating an equalizer to Roger Martinez in the 25th minute of the second half.
Al-Nasr secured only one point, with 64 points, and seven points apart from second-place Al-Hilal (71 points) with two games remaining. Al Hilal beat Al Fatech 4-3 on the same day thanks to Aleksandar Mitrovic's tie and comeback goal in the 40th minute and 2nd minute of second-half stoppage time.
In the SPL, the three teams ranked first to third in the final rankings will advance to the ACLE next season. While RT Hard (77 points) has won the league and confirmed its direct advance to the ACLE finals, Al Hilal also widened the point gap with third-place Al Kadishya (65 points) to six to virtually confirm second place. Even if they get one point in two games, including the match against Al-Kadish, they will advance to the Achame. Third place in the system has to take the other Acham ticket, but Saudi club Al Ahli beat Kawasaki Frontale in the final in the last ACLE to secure a place in the Champions League next season.
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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As a result, Al Ahli's victory in ACLE, currently fifth in the league, reduced Al Nasr's chances of advancing to ACLE. Al-Nasr reached the ACLE semifinals last season, but suffered a 2-3 shock defeat by Kawasaki. Ronaldo scored a total of eight goals in ACLE, but he lost several decisive chances against Kawasaki and was pointed out as the main cause of his elimination. Ronaldo, who scored 50 goals in 51 games in the 2023-2024 season, has 33 goals in 39 games as of this season.
Ronaldo, who left Manchester United to join Al Nasr in 2023, has played ACLE for the past two seasons in a row. There is no stage more familiar to Ronaldo, who has the record of most goals in the European Champions League (UCL). If Ronaldo, whose contract with Al Nasr ends this summer, signs a contract and remains on the team, he will have to play a season without the Champions League. However, local media are dissatisfied with Al Nasr's project and observe that Ronaldo is likely to move to other teams such as his former team Sporting or Al Nasr's Riyadh rival Al Hilal instead of renewing his contract. Rumors are also spreading that the team will be decided with a focus on participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States this summer.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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When Ronaldo was bowing to no spectators for the third consecutive year, Jesse Lingard (Seoul), Ronaldo's teammate during his time at Manchester United, won the ACLE for the first time. Seoul confirmed its first straight advance to the ACLE finals in five years as Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) beat Ryan City (Singapore) 2-1 in the Champions League 2 (ACL2) final on the 18th. The ACL2 winner will secure a place in the ACLE playoffs next season, and if Sharjah wins, Seoul could go straight to the finals without going through the playoffs. This is because Seoul's East Asian PO counterpart will disappear.
In the K-League, Ulsan, the winner of last season's K-League 1, Pohang, the runner-up, and fourth-ranked Seoul, the second-ranked member of the third-ranked military team Gimcheon Sangmu, will go straight to the ACLE finals, while Pohang, the winner of last season's Korea Cup, will be on the ACL2 stage.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
