"With the arrival of Cris, everything changed" - Al-Nassr star hails Cristiano Ronaldo's impact on Saudi football
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr teammate Talisca has hailed the Portuguese's impact on the Saudi Pro League. The 39-year-old arrived in the competition in December 2022 on a free transfer.
Widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the beautiful game, Ronaldo has played for some of the top teams in the game, like Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United.
He has also scored goals galore for club and country and is still going strong. Apart from that, it's a testament to his star power that Ronaldo's arrival sparked an influx of top players from Europe in the Kingdom, with the likes of Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez, to name a few.
In an interview with Globo Esporte (via Abola), Talisca observed how Ronaldo's arrival has boosted the number of foreign players in the SPL:
"When I arrived, there there were only six foreigners. We knew there would be long-term growth, but not so fast. With the arrival of Cris, everything changed. Today, if you look at the championships shelf, the Arab is already among the 10, a very big milestone and one that will continue to improve.”
The former Benfica attacker also added that he's having the best spell of his career, even besting the one he had at Besiktas:
"The best moment of my career I've ever had was at Besiktas and now I've surpassed that moment at Al-Nassr. And speaking of sequence, yes, the best moment is playing for Al-Nassr. There are two, three seasons in a row."
Ronaldo, Talisca and Co. are second in the SPL, 12 points behind runaway leaders Al-Hilal (86).
How has Cristiano Ronaldo fared for Al-Nassr this season?
Cristiano Ronaldo is in the midst of a splendid season with Al-Nassr, his first full campaign in Saudi Arabian football since arriving 17 months ago.
The five-time Ballon d'Or has plundered 41 goals and 12 assists in 40 games across competitions. Most of those goal contributions - 32 goals and 10 assists in 27 games - have come in the league.
Ronaldo has also bagged six goals and an assist in eight games in his maiden AFC Champions League campaign, where Al-Alami crashed out on penalties to Al-Ain in the quarterfinals.