Ronaldo pledges 'first of many' after Player of the Month Award in Saudi Pro League

By Sports Desk March 04, 2023

Cristiano Ronaldo has pledged his Player of the Month Award in the Saudi Pro League will be "the first of many" after winning the accolade with Al Nassr.

The Portugal forward, who made the move to the competition following his exit from Manchester United in November, made a quiet start to life with the club in January.

But following his first full month with Rudi Garcia's side, in which he scored two hat-tricks and totalled eight goals in four appearances, he looks to have fully settled into life with them.

Ahead of Al Nassr's 3-1 win against Al Batin on Friday, Ronaldo was presented with the monthly award, and promised it would not be the last one he claimed on social media.

"Happy to win the February Player of the Month Award for the Saudi League," he wrote. "Hopefully the first of many! Proud to be part of this team."

Ronaldo's first strike for the club came with a point-clinching penalty in a dramatic 2-2 draw against Al Fateh on February 3, before he scored all four goals in their 4-0 win over Al Wehda six days later.

Though he drew a blank in their 2-1 win over Al Taawoun, he set up both of his side's goals, supplying assists for Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Abdullah Madu on February 17.

The 38-year-old capped his excellent month with another hat-trick, this time in a 3-0 victory against Damac on February 25, to help keep Al Nassr in the thick of the title race.

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    Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.

    Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.

    Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.

    Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.

    The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.

    Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.

    Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider

    Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.

    That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.

  • Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on

    Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.

    Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.

    Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.

    Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.

    Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.

    Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.

    Data Debrief: Kante the creator?

    On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.

    On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.

     

  • Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level

    Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.

    Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.

    The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.

    Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.

    "If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.

    "I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."

    Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.

    "My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.

    "To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.

    "You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.

    "Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.

    "Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.

    "Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."

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