Al Nasr captain Cristiano Ronaldo won the Saudi Professional League title this season, but missed out on individual honors to one of his teammates
Cristiano Ronaldo missed out on the Saudi Professional League’s Player of the Season award
The Saudi Professional League announced Joao Félix as the player of the season ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. The captains and coaches of the league’s 18 teams accounted for the majority of votes, with fans and members of the media also contributing.
Ronaldo was one of the captains who received 40% of the votes, giving him the same weight as the head coach. 18 journalists also gave their opinions, accounting for 15% of the total, with fans donating the remaining 5%.
Ivan Toney, Julian Quinones and Ruben Neves were also candidates. Voting closed on Monday before the final round.
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On the final day, Ronaldo scored twice, bringing the total to 28, and Al-Nasr won the league with a 4-1 victory over Damak. Felix set up Sadio Mane’s 13th assist of the season in his opening game, more than anyone else.
Despite a disappointing debut season for the club after joining from Chelsea, the forward managed to score 20 goals. Only four other players have scored more goals, and one of them, Ronaldo, is the third top scorer.
The Golden Boot went to Julian Quinones, who scored a hat-trick on the final day and scored 33 goals. After going scoreless in Al Ahly’s last match, Ivan Toni fell one strike short.
Joao Felix failed at Chelsea before joining Al Nasr (Image: Getty Images)
Felix has surpassed Ronaldo in total goals and assists with 33. Felix, 41, recorded just two assists, more than his teammate’s 30.
But Toney had a league-leading seven assists in that regard, adding his final assist on the final day. This gave him 39 points, two points higher than Quinones’ 37 points.
Statistics aside, Felix is the only player to win the Player of the Month award more than once, winning the award in September and then again in May. Ronaldo failed to win a single match, with Kostas Fortunis (October), Georginio Wijnaldum (November), Toni (January), Yannick Carrasco (February) and Valentin Bada (April) being the other winners.
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Ronaldo last won the Player of the Month award in May 2024, the fifth time in his first full season in the league. However, Ronaldo has yet to win the award, as the league did not award the award for the rest of the season after that season, and Karim Benzema won it last season.
Felix has played in 33 games this season and has won nine Player of the Year awards. After his team won the title, he paid tribute to coach Jorge Jesus.
About the former Al Hilal coach, he said: “Playing football makes me happy and playing my position makes me happy. The coach gave me a lot of confidence. He made me play to direct the team, help the team and be one of the focus of the team. If that happens, I think things will go well.”
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Jesus also won the Coach of the Season award and singled out Ronaldo after the win. “This is a win for everyone, especially Cristiano, because he had not yet won a title in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The coach also confirmed the player’s departure from the club, saying: “I accepted this challenge because I told him I would help him become a champion. I said, ‘I will win the title and then leave.’ That is the fact. It is over for me. This is my last game with Al Nasr.”
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