When Records Matter More Than Results: The Growing Dilemma Around Cristiano Ronaldo
The scandal surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo after Al-Nassr’s defeat to Al‑Hilal has become a near-perfect reflection of where his career stands today. On one hand, Ronaldo remains an ultra-productive striker who has already scored 959 official goals for club and country and is openly driven by the idea of reaching the mythical 1,000-goal mark. On the other, the question grows louder with every high-profile setback: how much does this obsession with numbers actually help the team — and how much is it about protecting a personal legacy?
The match against Al-Hilal itself was a pressure cooker. Al-Nassr took the lead, Ronaldo once again delivered his contribution in attack, but the game ultimately slipped away in a 1–3 defeat after a red card for the goalkeeper and a series of controversial moments. In that context, Cristiano lost his composure, argued emotionally with the referee and made a gesture that many interpreted as a hint at “robbery” and injustice. Instantly, he placed himself at the centre of a new wave of debate — from possible disciplinary action to broader discussions about whether he now lives in a reality of his own. From the outside, it looks as if every dropped point is not just a blow to the league table, but a missed opportunity to edge closer to yet another personal milestone.
There is, however, an important nuance. It would be unfair to say that Al-Nassr have been completely empty-handed with Ronaldo. The club has already lifted an international competition — the Arab Club Champions Cup — with Cristiano scoring in the decisive match and dragging the team through on individual brilliance. Yet if we look at the main benchmark of success for the project — domestic dominance in the Saudi Pro League — the picture is far darker. The title has been claimed not only by Al-Hilal and their star-studded squad, but also by Al‑Ittihad, where Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema has added both quality and status in attack. Symbolically, it feels as though Benzema has taken back part of the spotlight. When the title race reaches its decisive phase, these rivals are the ones out in front, while Al-Nassr — despite having the biggest superstar of them all — slide into the role of a perpetual contender.
Against the backdrop of the number 959 — colossal even by the standards of football’s greatest goalscorers — it becomes increasingly clear that late-career Ronaldo is running a personal marathon. The 1,000-goal target is no longer just an ambition; it is close to an obsession. He pursues it through maximum physical load, a league with a packed calendar, and constant focus on finishing every attacking move. Inevitably, this reshapes Al-Nassr around one man. Too often, the team’s first instinct is to funnel the ball to Cristiano rather than search for more flexible solutions. While he keeps scoring, the model appears to work. But once opponents manage to neutralise him, or matches are decided by structure and system rather than flashes of individual brilliance, the fragility of that approach is exposed.
From the owners’ perspective, the situation is deeply ambiguous. From a business standpoint, the money invested in Ronaldo — including his lifestyle and conditions in Saudi Arabia — has already paid off in media terms. Interest in the league has surged, broadcasts and social media engagement have exploded, and the country has enjoyed a major tourism and image boost. Ronaldo remains a global magnet who sells not just football, but the very idea of Saudi Arabia as a new destination for the world’s biggest stars. Yet sporting logic demands a simpler answer: where is the league title? When will the millions, the records and the noise translate into a concrete result in the Saudi Pro League? Without an SPL trophy, the project increasingly resembles a showroom — expensive, dazzling, but hollow at its core.
It is easy to imagine tougher conversations already taking place behind closed doors. The leadership wants to keep using the Ronaldo brand to elevate the league, but at the same time they are likely demanding that the sporting department, coaches and recruitment staff build more than a system designed purely around a 40-year-old striker. What they need is a structure capable of winning trophies. For now, the reality is stark: Cristiano Ronaldo marches confidently towards 1,000 goals, living by his own personal objectives, while Al-Nassr remain in the shadow of rivals for whom trophies are not a dream, but a habit.
Published by Patrick Jane
13.01.2026