Cristiano Ronaldo Winning the Asian Champions League Will Be a Greater Achievement Than His UCL Titles With Real Madrid

It’s hard to sum up the career achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo. On the club level, the Portuguese has enjoyed a path only a few are lucky to traverse, by not just winning record silverware but also having countless records to his name, dominating the soccer landscape for over two decades. While his individual achievements, such as the five Ballon d’Ors or the four Golden Boots, are special, no one has come close to his stature in the UEFA Champions League.

Last year, however, the enigmatic forward decided to take a big leap and make an unconventional move to Saudi Arabia. But now, he has a different kind of Champions League to play in— the Asian Champions League. If he manages to win it with Al Nassr, then it might just be a greater achievement than his UCL feats with Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo winning the Asian Champions League has more significance than the UCL run with Real Madrid

Perhaps one of the hardest goodbyes that Cristiano Ronaldo had to say while leaving Europe was to the UEFA Champions League. It was one of his favorite competitions, as aside from winning it five times—four with Madrid and the first one with Manchester United—he is the all-time top scorer of the prestigious tournaments with 140 goals in a record 180 appearances.

He is not called “Mr. Champions League” for no reason. Now, he is representing Al Nassr in the AFC Champions League, which, just like the UCL, also features top-division teams across Asia.

One may understandably think it doesn’t match the level of the UCL, but we beg to differ. In fact, to the extent that if Ronaldo wins it, it would hold more significance than all of his UCL triumphs with Madrid. Well, for starters, let’s consider the team he is representing. Al Nassr is not very successful in Asia, at least in the modern format. Even before the arrival of Ronaldo, they struggled to break ground on the continent level. And it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that guiding a team that has never won this tournament in the modern era (last win in 97-98) to victory would certainly be a big achievement.

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Another reason that the AFC win would bear more fruit than the UCL victory is the level of the teams involved. At Madrid, he was backed by a talented team that took years to cook under coaches like Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. It was under the Italian boss that Los Blancos won the UCL in 2014, and after that, Zinedine Zidane helped them clinch three consecutive titles. Certainly, it shows it isn’t an overnight success, especially for Al Nassr, who have largely languished since the Abdul Madi Era. Post the late 90s, the club went on a slow decline and barely managed to avoid relegation on the last day of the 2006–07 season. Since then, in part due to the intervention of Abdul Madi, the club went through an overhaul and is now in resurgence.

Things were different at Madrid

There’s no denying that both UCL and AFC are two different competitions. But considering the amount of time it took for Madrid to build this European Cup-winning machine is a different feat altogether. Building that success often requires time, even decades.

One must also not forget that Ronaldo is not getting much time to settle in Riyadh, which he luckily got in Madrid. Even when he was at United since 2003, the player had to lose one final and then finally got his hands on the trophy for the first time in 2008. So one could imagine how much Al Nassr needs to buckle up.

Notably, it has been just a year since Ronaldo arrived at Al Nassr, yet he can perform well, even at 38. His teammates have remarkably managed to build chemistry in such a short time. While the support of new additions from Europe is surely there, players like Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Abdullah Alkhaibari have also excelled with Ronaldo on the team and have managed to find their stride.

One must also consider the transition within their coaching system. But things are finally locked under Luis Castro, and they have what it takes to win the tournament. Nevertheless, ahead of them lie some tough opponents even at the Asian level.

The blueprint for Al Nassr to excel ahead of its competitors

Believe it or not, the competition is tough in Asia. Iranian side Persepolis, Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds, South Korean side Ulsan Hyundai, and Australia’s Western Sydney Wanderers are some of the most competitive and strongest clubs in the history of the AFC. In fact, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal and Al Ittihad are also much better on paper than Al Nassr. Al Hilal is the most successful team in the AFC, with four titles. Meanwhile, Al Ittihad has won two.

It shows the openness of the annual tournament and how it is hard to win. Surely, Ronaldo and his teammates would need to go beyond the extra mile. So far, they are doing impressively in the competition, leading Group E with 12 points. While the likes of Persepolis, Tajik side Istiklol, and Qatari side Al Duhail are trailing behind the Riyadh side, this doesn’t mean they will win the tournament. The real test would begin in the later stages of the competitions.

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Time is of the essence for Al Nassr, as they have a better chance in this competition with Ronaldo before he decides to hang up his boots. Now, it’s in their hands to win their first-ever Asian Champions League.