There are four footballers on earth still active as professionals who have won the Ballon d’Or. There is only one league on the planet where you can see two of them on the same pitch.
With that unique billing, the Saudi Pro League ushered out a calendar year in which the unprecedented and the inimitable have been standard setting.
As it turned out, Cristiano Ronaldo versus Karim Benzema, Ballon d’Or winners six times between them and Real Madrid colleagues through nine years and 342 matches in an era that celebrated the might and recruitment power of Madrid, had plenty of drama.
For Al Ittihad, Benzema gave away a penalty, one of two converted by Al Nassr’s Ronaldo; Fabinho was sent off, Sadio Mane and Abderrazak Hamdallah both netted a brace. It finished 5-2 in Jeddah, a snapshot 90 minutes of how stardom and imported talent are contributing to the spectacle of a league undergoing massive transformation.
In less than two weeks, Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and outsiders Osasuna will travel to Riyadh for the Spanish Super Cup, an event originally expanded and exported to Saudi Arabia four years ago, when the hosting of major international events there was less routine than it has become. Back in 2019, the likes of Barca and Madrid confidently imagined they were the most glamorous footballing attraction of a Saudi winter.
This year, they will think again. On Tuesday night, when Ronaldo’s Al Nassr beat Benzema’s Al Ittihad, the ebb and flow of the fixture was rather more compelling – Al Ittihad took the lead, lost it, equalised and lost it again – than, say, the final of the Club World Cup, won at a canter by Manchester City in the same city four days earlier. There’s a live thread of competition across those two fixtures, too, in that Ronaldo’s two goals edged him ahead of City’s Erling Haaland – at least overnight – in the race to be elite football’s leading goalscorer in 2023.
And so the story of the Pro League’s momentous year begins and ends with Ronaldo setting landmarks. He was the marquee signing whose arrival in January endorsed the prestige of Saudi Arabian club football for so many others who followed later.
Rewind 13 months and Ronaldo was at a crossroads in his garlanded career: He had fallen out badly with Manchester United, and been dropped from Portugal’s starting XI at the World Cup.
His rebound, in his 39th year, has been eye-catching, and for anybody who regards it mainly as an argument that standards are so much lower in the Pro League, defences easier to overcome than they were for him in La Liga, the Premier League or in Italy’s Serie A, it is worth noting that his relevance for Portugal has also returned to close to peak levels in the past 12 months.
Ten of those 53 Ronaldo goals for the calendar year have come from nine internationals, all of them with him fully restored to the starting XI of a national team that compiled an immaculate record in Euro 2024 qualifying.
If Ronaldo, who joined Al Nassr in January, was the pathfinder for the rise in global profile of the Pro League, money has been the galvaniser. Its clubs, principally those backed most heavily by the country’s Public Investment Fund – Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Ahli – outspent every major European league bar the English Premier League on transfer fees last summer.
The influence of the arriving stars is pronounced: Ronaldo is the league’s leading scorer so far this term, just ahead of the €50 million-plus Aleksandr Mitrovic, whose goals for Al Hilal have helped them lead a title race where champions Al Ittihad have slipped back. And not only domestically. Benzema and Co’s defeat to Al Nassr came soon after their loss to Cairo’s Al Ahly at the Club World Cup.
Al Hilal, meanwhile, have entered the second half of the season unbeaten, having dropped just four points, all without great use of their supposed trump card, Neymar. The Brazilian, lured from Paris Saint-Germain for a €90 million fee, suffered serious injury in October and may not see competitive action again until the middle of 2024.
In Neymar’s absence, the Saudi juggernaut moves on. The country was all but confirmed as host of the 2034 World Cup in the autumn, an event still distant on the horizon for Roberto Mancini, who gave up the job as manager of Italy’s reigning European champions to take over the Saudi national team.
Mancini views with a nuanced perspective the Pro League’s rising global reach. The stars from abroad have certainly boosted international interest but, to Mancini’s eye, the flood of incoming talent risks halting first-team opportunities for home-grown players.
Expect him to voice that concern out loud ahead of next month’s Asian Cup in Qatar, when expectation around the Green Falcons, the national team from the game’s new superpower league, will be higher than ever.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
UAE SQUAD
UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards
Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
More on animal trafficking
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
