Cristiano Ronaldo will have one last chance to win the Asian Champions League, which is expected to be dominated by high-spending Saudi teams, when the highest club competition in the continent starts on Monday.
In August, the 41-year-old former star of Juventus, Real Madrid, and Manchester United declared that it was “probably my last year in football.”
Throughout his professional career, the Portuguese attacker has almost won everything, including five UEFA Champions League titles.
However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has yet to qualify for the Asian Champions League.
Ange Postecoglou, a former Tottenham manager who led his team to Europa League glory but was fired by Spurs in June 2025, is the new coach of his Al Nassr team going into the most recent continental campaign.
In addition to Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman, Sadio Mane, and Joao Felix, Ronaldo’s teammate from Portugal, are also established international attackers for the Riyadh-based team.
After six games, Al Nassr is just behind Al Hilal on goal differential in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo, the captain, has been playing well, scoring three goals in five league games.
Ronaldo’s attempt to win the AFC Champions League for the first time is seriously hampered by Simone Inzaghi’s Al Hilal.
Al Hilal spent a lot of money during the most recent transfer window, acquiring Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli from Arsenal and England striker Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa for a total of $150 million.
Teams from Saudi Arabia, which is spending enormous sums of money on football and will host the 2034 World Cup, have a significant advantage in the Asian Champions League format.
The competition has been renamed the Champions League Elite since the 2024–2025 season, and the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship are all staged in one central venue in Saudi Arabia.
Al Ahli won the championship in 2025 and 2026, making the most of home advantage.
In the April final at home in Jeddah, an Al Ahli team led by England’s Ivan Toney defeated Japan’s Machida Zelvia 1-0 in extra time.
Al Ittihad and Al Qadsiah will join Al Nassr, Al Ahli, and Al Hilal in this year’s league, bringing the total number of Saudi teams among the 32 teams to five.
The competition is split equally between the East and West leagues, just like it has been in recent years.
There will be four home games and four away games for each team.
Given that teams from Asia’s top footballing nation have advanced to the final in each of the previous four tournaments, Japan will probably pose the greatest danger to Saudi Arabia’s hegemony.
Additionally, there are five J. League teams, the most prominent of which is Kashima Antlers, the current domestic champions.
Yasushi Endo, a former Kashima standout, acknowledged that the Saudi teams would be difficult to defeat.
“Given the financial strength of Western teams that can invest heavily in players who traditionally play in strong European leagues, it’s difficult for Japanese teams to be champions these days,” he stated.
The fact that the competition is held in a centralized fashion in the West further complicates matters.
