Cristiano Ronaldo's impact at Al-Nassr has been massive, but questions are beginning to surface about how much the club leans on him. As reported by Softfootball, the Portuguese legend was the star again when he scored his 950th career goal in a 2-0 win over Al-Hazem earlier this month . Despite his impressive numbers, its interesting to note that the team sometimes seems to perform better when he is not on the pitch.
During the 2022/23 season, Al-Nassr averaged 2.36 points per game without Ronaldo, compared to 2.13 when he played. They even scored a bit more in his absence. The team occasionally looks more fluid without constantly searching for him with every attack. It is not that Ronaldo is a problem, but his presence tends to make others overly dependent on him instead of trusting their instincts.
Ronaldo has scored 106 goals since joining Al-Nassr in 2022, an incredible return by any measure. Yet, the club has not lifted the Saudi Pro League trophy since 2019. They have finished second in the last two seasons and lost out in major tournaments like the AFC Champions League, Super Cup and King's Cup, in which they just lost a match to Al-Ittihad in a 2-1 scoreline, as reported by Softfootball .