Cristiano Ronaldo - Much Ado About Al Nassr

Zehner

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There was nothing zinging about it. It was a poorly struck free kick that snuck through a fence of three retired dodgeball players.
Aren't retired dodgeball players better in a wall than non-retired dodgeball players?
 

Alex B

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I'm interested in stats but useless & lazy in doing the groundwork. Has anybody analysed Al Nassr before and after Ronaldo joined - eg points per game, goals per game, xG, where they were in the table. I doubt anyone here watched them before but how they compare?
I'd like to ultimately understand from it if at this point in time Ronaldo is at his level or not. I'm surprised I can't find any detailed articles discussing it.
 

Gazza

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Saudi have played it brilliantly by bringing him in. We actually have people on an Irish forum arguing about the level of their division and going out of their way to watch and analyze his games.

As a means to increase visibility, marshaling the hoards of desperate Ronaldo fanboys is a genius move.

It’s hard to think of a single transfer in football history that will have done more for the profile of any division in the history of football.
People aren't watching low quality football, Ronaldo or not.
 

Maluco

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People aren't watching low quality football, Ronaldo or not.
There is definitely more buzz about their league. Clips on TikTok, people discussing it and searching out highlights that would have never done so before.

They are definitely benefiting from it.
 

Gazza

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There is definitely more buzz about their league. Clips on TikTok, people discussing it and searching out highlights that would have never done so before.

They are definitely benefiting from it.
I’d hope they’re “benefitting from it,” given the expenditure!

In all seriousness, you are talking about a very very small return on that investment. Initial curiosity centered around seeing a great of the game playing in the football equivalent of someone’s backyard. Doesn’t mean shit in terms of the long term prospects of that league becoming of interest to anyone other than Ronaldo fanboys who aren’t ready to pull the plug on their hero worship. Ronaldo will leave in a year or two and no one will have become an ongoing fan of the Saudi league. It’s just reality.
 

jm99

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I’d hope they’re “benefitting from it,” given the expenditure!

In all seriousness, you are talking about a very very small return on that investment. Initial curiosity centered around seeing a great of the game playing in the football equivalent of someone’s backyard. Doesn’t mean shit in terms of the long term prospects of that league becoming of interest to anyone other than Ronaldo fanboys who aren’t ready to pull the plug on their hero worship. Ronaldo will leave in a year or two and no one will have become an ongoing fan of the Saudi league. It’s just reality.
I don't know, messi's contract is expiring this summer, if they can throw a ton of money at him and have Messi vs Ronaldo games, they might actually get skysports or the like to bid on the league. The psg vs Al nasser friendly had a pretty decent viewing on YouTube until they went off then most people stopped watching :lol:

It probably doesn't seem worth the return on investment but if they're planning for a 2030 world cup and can have a few years of Ronaldo vs Messi, while the bidding process is happening then maybe it will be
 

Gazza

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I don't know, messi's contract is expiring this summer, if they can throw a ton of money at him and have Messi vs Ronaldo games, they might actually get skysports or the like to bid on the league. The psg vs Al nasser friendly had a pretty decent viewing on YouTube until they went off then most people stopped watching :lol:

It probably doesn't seem worth the return on investment but if they're planning for a 2030 world cup and can have a few years of Ronaldo vs Messi, while the bidding process is happening then maybe it will be
Didn't Qatar just show you can host a World Cup without paying a king's ransom to an over the hill footballer? Not sure having Ronaldo kicking water bottles at Al Nassr will have any meaningful impact whatsoever on Saudi's ability to host the WC. Appreciate your pov, just seems like wishful thinking to me!
 

jm99

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Didn't Qatar just show you can host a World Cup without paying a king's ransom to an over the hill footballer? Not sure having Ronaldo kicking water bottles at Al Nassr will have any meaningful impact whatsoever on Saudi's ability to host the WC. Appreciate your pov, just seems like wishful thinking to me!
Qatar have heavily lobbied the French government, hsd their support and had 3 of the best international players at the 2022 world cup all on their psg side, Saudi Newcastle project will take too long I think for the 2030 world cup bidding, Ronaldo and Messi playing in their league would be a huge boost
 

Sandikan

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Every so often I see clips of either Ronaldo trying to take someone on and failing, or some absolute oaf teammate, who looks like someone you've played against down the park, lashing one 100feet over the bar from 30 yards out, cutting to Ronaldo looking horrified :lol:
 

Vidyoyo

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Didn't Qatar just show you can host a World Cup without paying a king's ransom to an over the hill footballer? Not sure having Ronaldo kicking water bottles at Al Nassr will have any meaningful impact whatsoever on Saudi's ability to host the WC. Appreciate your pov, just seems like wishful thinking to me!
To a point yep but Qatar had been playing a similar game for a number of years with the likes of high profile players like Raul, Desailly, Pep (aka baldylocks) and Xavi having gone there at the tail-end of their careers. A cynic might be inclined to think that was done to improve the sporting profile of the country in preparation for an eventual WC bid. There's obviously the PSG ownership as well, which seems to have had a very similar effect in terms of increasing sporting awareness overall.

Saudi is of course very different given how the country is viewed by the west but there's a fair bit being done to the country's tourism board at the same time so it feels that this could be part of the same type of long-term project.

The main thing I think is that somewhere Ronaldo's wage is being bankrolled by a bigwig. Al-Nassr aren't self-sustaining enough to pay for his outrageous wages. Somebody/people are doing this for a particular reason.

Edit - Of course there's Newcastle too.
 

Champ

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How shite is the Saudi league comparatively? Is it worse than the Chinese league?
It was classed as between league one and two standard by a statistical analysis company, make of that what you will.
 

Gazza

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Qatar have heavily lobbied the French government, hsd their support and had 3 of the best international players at the 2022 world cup all on their psg side, Saudi Newcastle project will take too long I think for the 2030 world cup bidding, Ronaldo and Messi playing in their league would be a huge boost
There’s no tangible evidence supporting your claims. Precedent says there’s no need to pick up has-been footballers for your domestic league in order to be chosen to host a World Cup.
 

jm99

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There’s no tangible evidence supporting your claims. Precedent says there’s no need to pick up has-been footballers for your domestic league in order to be chosen to host a World Cup.
Well, you as an anonymous poster on redcafe, likely know more than the guys who are shelling out 200m a year on Ronaldo, presumably they've been advised by the best, that it would have very little positive effect, but just did it anyway for a laugh

If these guys are spending that much, and it's definitely the state and not Al nassr paying it, then they've got a good reason
 

Gazza

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Well, you as an anonymous poster on redcafe, likely know more than the guys who are shelling out 200m a year on Ronaldo, presumably they've been advised by the best, that it would have very little positive effect, but just did it anyway for a laugh

If these guys are spending that much, and it's definitely the state and not Al nassr paying it, then they've got a good reason
You realize your logic is “someone paid for it, therefore it must be worth it”, right? Just making sure, because that’s a logical fail right there.
 

jm99

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You realize your logic is “someone paid for it, therefore it must be worth it”, right? Just making sure, because that’s a logical fail right there.
Well, no, my logic is the state have given Al-nassr an absolute ton of money to bring Ronaldo to that league, clearly they're expecting something for that. Maybe they wanted al-nassr to win their league, though I'd say there were cheaper and better ways to do so, so it's far more likely the Saudi state is paying his wages for another reason, likely to increase their profile aiming towards a world cup bid. These people have advisors paid millions of dollars, access to massive amounts of data, and likely a lot of inside information with fifa.

I'd imagine they're getting something in return for their 200 million a year, whereas you seem to think they've just done it for no reason
 

Maluco

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Of course they are getting something. It’s madness to suggest they won’t. Go on TikTok or Instagram last year and check how many clips there were from their league and then go and do it now. They are everywhere.

The visibility of their league is still meager, but it has never been higher than today, because millions and millions of people want to know what Ronaldo is doing.

That’s not even to mention the fact that it makes it a viable destination for any big name approaching the end of their careers, and those names will help legitimize their bid.
 

Gazza

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Well, no, my logic is the state have given Al-nassr an absolute ton of money to bring Ronaldo to that league, clearly they're expecting something for that. Maybe they wanted al-nassr to win their league, though I'd say there were cheaper and better ways to do so, so it's far more likely the Saudi state is paying his wages for another reason, likely to increase their profile aiming towards a world cup bid. These people have advisors paid millions of dollars, access to massive amounts of data, and likely a lot of inside information with fifa.

I'd imagine they're getting something in return for their 200 million a year, whereas you seem to think they've just done it for no reason
Yeah, so again, your logic is that to spend so much money on something then they must have a good reason to do so and therefore it's a worthy investment. That's a logical fail because people overpay and make stupid purchases all the time, regardless of what kind of advice or guidance they might be privy to. I didn't say they've done it for no reason, I'm saying that the rationale is flawed and there's little to no tangible evidence that suggests you need to pay a has-been footballer a king's ransom in order to be chosen as a world cup host.
 

jm99

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Yeah, so again, your logic is that to spend so much money on something then they must have a good reason to do so and therefore it's a worthy investment. That's a logical fail because people overpay and make stupid purchases all the time, regardless of what kind of advice or guidance they might be privy to. I didn't say they've done it for no reason, I'm saying that the rationale is flawed and there's little to no tangible evidence that suggests you need to pay a has-been footballer a king's ransom in order to be chosen as a world cup host.
As the poster above said, Al-nassr highlights are now posted after every game by espn or whoever, the goals are posted on reddit and seen by lots of people, I don't use tiktok or Instagram but apparently they've had millions more followers, acquiring psg was important for Qatar getting the world cup, the Saudis will find Newcastle too slow for their 2030 project (if they'd waited til we were available it would have been much better for them).

They've brought the most marketable player in the world to their league, from the sounds of things they've also offered Messi an absolute fortune to come to their League. The engagement they get from social media, raising the profile of their league, that's what is worth their investment. Before the Saudi league was barely talked about, now on social media, its only really the top 6 leagues that get more focus than al nassr games, though the gap is still pretty big. All these things make a difference when they're trying to sell themselves as potential world cup hosts.
 

Gazza

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As the poster above said, Al-nassr highlights are now posted after every game by espn or whoever, the goals are posted on reddit and seen by lots of people, I don't use tiktok or Instagram but apparently they've had millions more followers, acquiring psg was important for Qatar getting the world cup, the Saudis will find Newcastle too slow for their 2030 project (if they'd waited til we were available it would have been much better for them).

They've brought the most marketable player in the world to their league, from the sounds of things they've also offered Messi an absolute fortune to come to their League. The engagement they get from social media, raising the profile of their league, that's what is worth their investment. Before the Saudi league was barely talked about, now on social media, its only really the top 6 leagues that get more focus than al nassr games, though the gap is still pretty big. All these things make a difference when they're trying to sell themselves as potential world cup hosts.
Qatar didn't need it and I don't believe it will make a tangible difference to Saudi's World Cup bid. Clearly you feel otherwise, I'm good with that! :)
 

el3mel

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Huh ? What does that even mean ? Which mountain is he talking about ?
 

Mr Pigeon

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Huh ? What does that even mean ? Which mountain is he talking about ?
It's poorly translated but what's he's saying is that he's Moses coming down the mountain, but the mountain flicked it's toe up so he tumbled down. And when the ref didn't give him a penalty he sulked so hard it parted the Reds, see?
 

Fluctuation0161

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Well yeh, except it shouldn't be null and void to Pele's record at NASL, Cruyff at NASL, Muller at NASL, Zico at J.League or even Messi at Ligue 1 etc

Because you know, double standards.
Just reality. Weghorst could go and get some good stats in Saudi. It's meaningless.
 

ayushreddevil9

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The only reels i see are the ones showing his embarrassing flicks, passes and shithousery against teammates.
 

Lay

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Genuinely not sure if that's actually true.
Unless you mean running, working hard and being a good lad stats.
He has good stats in much better leagues than Saudi Arabia. He had 8 in 16 this season for Besiktas!
 

el3mel

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It does seem this interview has a lot more gems than I thought.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Genuinely not sure if that's actually true.
Unless you mean running, working hard and being a good lad stats.
Do you think your could be over estimating the quality in the Saudi league?

Weghorst scored 59 goals in 118 games for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Are you trying to say the Saudi league would be more difficult than the Bundesliga?
 

UnrelatedPsuedo

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What an utterly odd end to a career. I know he grew up dirt poor and is now maximising his earnings, but he’s so Fcuking weird.

The toxicity of a fan base that supports a player in full effect. He’s an accused rapist, curries favour with Piers Morgan and Jordan Peterson, seemingly cares about social media, and doesn’t seem to have managed to grow into a normal human. He just seems broken.

No idea why this thread is always around. I guess I am contributing to that but whatever.
 

tenpoless

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It does seem this interview has a lot more gems than I thought.
That fake, unironed Real Madrid jersey along with the fact that he looks like he had lego up his bum in that picture makes the bullshit he said even more impressive.
 
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NLunited

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I don't think I've ever seen a hint of personality in Ronaldo.



True, but while Ten Hag can get Weghorst to aide the team without scoring, Ronaldo was dragging us down like a stone.



Wishful thinking? I hate the cnut. Could he do what Weghorst does? Of course he could. Would he? No. I think I made that point pretty clear but it looks like you're too busy choking on a dictionary.
No he couldn‘t he hasn‘t got the legs nomore. He could have been a pinch hitter for us, but the cnut did not want to.
 

RedRonaldo

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I don't know, messi's contract is expiring this summer, if they can throw a ton of money at him and have Messi vs Ronaldo games, they might actually get skysports or the like to bid on the league. The psg vs Al nasser friendly had a pretty decent viewing on YouTube until they went off then most people stopped watching :lol:

It probably doesn't seem worth the return on investment but if they're planning for a 2030 world cup and can have a few years of Ronaldo vs Messi, while the bidding process is happening then maybe it will be
Yeh especially when they have combined followings of nearly 1 billion fans on social media, it will surely be more than a very little attraction even if it’s a shite league.