Ronaldo is the captain of Al Nassr
On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, the final whistle in Jeddah felt heavier than usual. Al Ittihad’s players celebrated wildly after edging Al Nassr 2–1, knocking Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates out of the Saudi King’s Cup.
For Al Nassr fans, it was another heartbreak. For Ronaldo, it was another chapter in a long, frustrating drought that refuses to end.
The defeat marked the 13th official competition Ronaldo has failed to win since joining Al Nassr in late 2022, a statistic that stands in sharp contrast to the legacy of a man who once made winning look routine.
When Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Saudi Arabia in December 2022, Al Nassr fans dreamed of a golden era.
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The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, a man synonymous with trophies and records, was expected to transform the club into an unstoppable force across every competition.
But nearly three years later, that dream has turned into a long, painful drought.
Since his high-profile move, Ronaldo has participated in 13 official tournaments with Al Nassr and lost every single one.
From the Saudi Super Cups to the King’s Cup finals, and even the AFC Champions League, the story has been the same: heartbreak after heartbreak.
The team has come close on several occasions, with Ronaldo often leading the scoring charts, but silverware continues to elude him.
It began with the Saudi Super Cup 2023, his first taste of Saudi football glory that never came. Then followed the 2023 league and King’s Cup, both slipping away to rivals Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal.
The same pattern repeated in 2024, as Al Nassr fell short in the Super Cup, League, and King’s Cup, despite Ronaldo’s goals lighting up the season.
The AFC Champions League 2024, the biggest continental test, ended in disappointment too. By 2025, Al Nassr’s frustrations deepened.
Ronaldo led the charge through the Super Cup, Asian Elite Cup, League, and King’s Cup, but none produced the fairytale ending he was brought in to deliver.
Even the 2026 King’s Cup, another chance to end the drought, ended with the same familiar outcome: defeat.
For a player who lifted trophies in Manchester, Madrid, and Turin, this phase of Ronaldo’s career is a stark contrast.
He remains the star, the showman, and still one of football’s most marketable icons. But in Saudi Arabia, where expectations were sky-high, glory has remained just out of reach.
Fans still fill stadiums to watch him, still chant his name, and still believe that one final chapter of triumph is possible.
Yet, as each missed trophy adds to the list, Ronaldo’s Al Nassr era is slowly turning into one of the most surprising droughts in modern football.
FKA/JE
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