Cristiano Ronaldo is just one game away from his first official title with Al Nassr, as his team prepares to face Al Ahli in the Saudi Super Cup final on Saturday, August 22. But the competition has been hit with controversy after Al Ahli striker Ivan Toney slammed the organizers for what he called poor preparation.
For the 2025 edition, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) announced the Super Cup would be staged in Hong Kong following a sponsorship deal with SUM KM Sport. However, the facilities and training conditions have left players frustrated.
Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Toney was asked about “the 40,000 fans in the stadium cheering for Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.” His response quickly shifted to criticism of the organization: “To be honest, the preparation and how we have been treated has been crazy. We have been on the worst pitch. We have been training after teams.”
Toney went on to say that Al Ahli are using the situation as extra motivation. “We have probably been the most hated team, the one that everyone doesn’t want to win, so it just gives us that extra hunger and fight to win something against these teams. You could see that in the game the other day (vs. Al Qadsiah), there was no remorse for them. We wanted to score more and more against them, and we did that,” he said.
Ivan Toney of Al Ahli handles the penalty kill during the Saudi Super Cup semi final between Al-Ahli and Al-Qadsiah at Hong Kong Stadium on August 20, 2025 in Hong Kong, China.
Al Ahli booked their place in the final with a dominant 5-1 win over Al Qadsiah, with Toney scoring from the penalty spot. He added that the lack of support from organizers has only fueled their determination to win the trophy.
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“Hopefully we can take that energy, and bit of fire inside us, to win tomorrow. I think it just shows the team that we are. We get on with things. It’s not been the best, but we get on with it and take the fire out on the pitch,” concluded Toney after slamming the organizers.
Ronaldo’s strong record vs. Al Ahli
Al Ahli head into the Saudi Super Cup final in strong form after lifting the most recent AFC Champions League Elite and cruising through the semifinals. But history favors their opponents, and Cristiano Ronaldo in particular.
Since joining Al Nassr, Ronaldo has faced Al Ahli four times in the Saudi Pro League across the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Al Nassr came out on top in three of those meetings and earned one draw, with the Portuguese star scoring three goals along the way.
Ronaldo’s Al Nassr vs. Al Ahli
- 2023-24 SPL, Matchday 7: Al Nassr 3-0 Al Ahli (two goals by Ronaldo).
- 2023-24 SPL, Matchday 24: Al Ahli 0-1 Al Nassr (one goal by Ronaldo).
- 2024-25 SPL, Matchday 3: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Ahli.
- 2024-25 SPL, Matchday 20: Al Ahli 2-3 Al Nassr.
