Luis Castro decided to rest Cristiano Ronaldo in their recent AFC outing. The Al Nassr manager did not include the Portuguese in the squad for their game against Al Duhail at the Khalifa International Stadium. The Knights of Najd, nevertheless, managed to defeat their Qatari opponents, with Anderson Talisca stepping in. Not only did they win, but Al Nassr also broke the viewership record of 2023 despite the absence of their star player.

Cristiano Ronaldo will return to the team for the game against Al Waheda in the Saudi League. As they battle league leaders Al Hilal for the title, every match from here on counts.

Al Nassr creates a unique record in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo

Al Nassr decided to rest a number of their star players including Cristiano Ronaldo for their game against Al Duhail. This is because they have a very hectic schedule coming up. However, in the end, the gamble paid off and the Riyadh outfit won the game 3-2. Andreas Talisca scored a hat trick for Al Nassr. Despite the absence of Ronaldo, the game made headlines for other interesting reasons.

According to journalist Ali Al-Harbi, Al Nassr created a viewership record. The journalist posted on Twitter, “Viewings of the Al-Nasr Saudi Club match, which was played at Khalifa International Stadium, achieved “the highest viewership in the world during the year 2023, as it exceeded the number of views of ten AFC Champions League matches and five European Champions League matches despite the absence of the legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

This indicates that more and more soccer fans are now keeping an eye on Saudi League clubs. It is because there are several top European stars now playing in the league fans are familiar with. However, moving focus back to Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the Al Nassr team, they do have a hectic schedule coming up.

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Al Nassr will have games coming thick and fast after the international break. They face Al Waheda on the 11th of November. After that, the international break will commence. However, starting from the 24th of November, the Saudi giants will have a game every three days as they are participating in the Saudi League, Kings Cup, and the Asian Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 12 goals in the league this season. And so, Al Nassr did not want him to get injured for the long term ahead of the important games coming up. Al Nassr will also hope that Portugal gives Ronaldo a rest in one of the upcoming games against Liechtenstein or Iceland, having already qualified for the World Cup 2026. Hence, they can give rest to Ronaldo.

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Al Nassr is hoping to push Al Hilal in the title race for the second half of the season. They are currently 4 points behind undefeated Al Hilal in the league.

So the big question can Cristiano Ronaldo win the Saudi Pro League, Kings Cup, and Asian Champions League with Al Nassr?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.