Cristiano Ronaldo has finally broken his trophy drought with Al Nassr, securing his first official title since arriving in Saudi Arabia in late 2022. The breakthrough came as Al Nassr clinched the Saudi Pro League championship following a decisive 4-1 victory over Damac with a brace from the Portuguese striker.
By capturing the league crown, Ronaldo ended a three-year and four months wait to hoist an official trophy with the club. The Portuguese icon made his official debut on January 22, 2023, and had since been repeatedly frustrated in his quest to lift recognized silverware in the Middle East.
The only tournament Ronaldo had previously celebrated with Al Nassr was the Arab Club Champions Cup, where he famously led his team to victory with a brilliant brace against Al Hilal. However, that tournament is not officially recognized by FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), meaning it never counted toward Cristiano’s legendary official career statistics.
Cristiano had a golden opportunity to collect multiple trophies this season after spearheading Al Nassr’s run to the AFC Champions League Two final. However, despite entering the match as heavy favorites on their home turf, Al Nassr suffered a shocking 1-0 upset at the hands of Japan’s Gamba Osaka, leaving Ronaldo empty-handed on the continental stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal for Al Nassr vs Damac. (Getty Images)
Ronaldo finally capitalizes on silverware opportunity
After letting the AFC Champions League Two title slip through his fingers, Cristiano was determined not to let another golden opportunity pass him by to finish the club campaign empty-handed once again.
see also
Cristiano Ronaldo misses Golden Boot three-peat yet still gets last laugh over Ivan Toney as Al-Nassr star’s legendary Saudi Pro League record survives
Prior to this league triumph, Ronaldo had endured a painful streak of four consecutive final defeats with Al Nassr. The club finished as runners-up in the King’s Cup (2023-24), back-to-back Saudi Super Cups (2024-25 and 2025-26), and the aforementioned recent AFC Champions League Two collapse.
Cristiano ends long club trophy drought
Beyond simply snapping his dry spell with Al Nassr, this league triumph also marks the end of a staggering five-year personal drought for Cristiano without a club trophy.
Before lifting the Saudi Pro League trophy, the Portuguese superstar’s last official piece of club silverware came back in 2021 during his tenure with Juventus, when the Italian giants defeated Atalanta 2-1 to claim the Coppa Italia.
