Cristiano Ronaldo to Al-Nassr: is he “finished”?
Following his performance in 2022’s World Cup in Qatar and his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, some fans consider Cristiano Ronaldo to be “finished,”; but is he?
On January 1, 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo left his free agent status behind him by signing for Al-Nassr, a team in the Saudi Pro League-the 27th ranked professional soccer league in the world as of 2022. Ronaldo, who had dominated the world’s top leagues for most of his stellar career, was seen by fans as “finished” because the league he had just joined wasn’t seen as world-class.
In addition, Ronaldo failed many fans’ expectations at the World Cup when Portugal, the country he represents, was eliminated in the quarter-finals, and he underperformed in the game coming off of the bench. So, is his career “finished”?
The answer is no, not necessarily.
Although the Saudi league isn’t as strong of a league that fans are used to seeing Ronaldo be in, it isn’t weak whatsoever. An “all-star team” composed of 22 players from Saudi league sides Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr played a friendly match against Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) on Jan. 19th, a team ranked 7 on FIFAs power rankings. The team is comprised of superstars such as Neymar, Mbappe and Messi, all of which started out the game for PSG. The match ended with a nail-biting 5-4 PSG victory, with Ronaldo scoring 2 of Al-Nassr’s goals before subbing off in the 60th minute to avoid unnecessary injury.
This match against powerhouse PSG proved to the world that Ronaldo isn’t finished yet: he can still perform against the big guys.
On Thursday, Feb. 9, Al-Nassr played against Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League, beating them 4-0. The scoresheet read: Ronaldo 21’, Ronaldo 40’, Ronaldo 53’, Ronaldo 61’. Once again, Ronaldo proved himself to be a world-class player, scoring 4+ goals in a single professional match for the 11th time in his career so far. This game also marked Ronaldo’s 500th league goal in his career. He single-handedly put his team on his back once again, an action he has done countless times in the past.
“I think that Ronaldo is still a world-class player,” junior and Vikings soccer player Mark Yonan said. People say he’s finished because he isn’t as good as he used to be, but he’s still better than many of the players in the world. Obviously, he has gotten worse as he gets ‘old’, just like any other player, but that does not mean he’s finished. — Mark Yonan, Junior
Many soccer players agree that Ronaldo’s time is not done yet.
“Ronaldo’s time isn’t over yet,” sophomore and Vikings soccer player Bobby Schneider said. “He said he plans to finish off his career in Europe, which is a very real possibility. He’s still one of the best players in the world right now.”
Although Ronaldo has already hit his peak, he continues to show that he can hang with the greats. He just turned 38, 8 years after the retirement age for the average athlete, but he isn’t like any other athlete. His career might be slowly coming to an end, but it isn’t over just yet.
Quinn Graham is a senior at Niles North and this is his second year working on the newspaper. He enjoys playing soccer, working, and hanging out with his...
