Cristiano Ronaldo, overshadowed by a 14-year-younger teammate... despite a desperate championship, no individual awards... Felix wins 'Player of the Year' honor

*This content was translated by AI.

"Superstar" Cristiano Ronaldo (41, Al-Nassr) has finally secured the championship he desperately sought on the Saudi Arabia stage. However, despite his top-tier performance, he finished the season without a single individual award.

The Saudi Pro League office officially announced on the 22nd (Korea time) that "Al-Nassr striker Joao Felix (27) has been selected as the Player of the Year for the 2025-2026 season."

Felix, a striker from Portugal like Ronaldo, has been regarded as an exceptional prospect since his youth. He later played for Atletico Madrid (Spain), Chelsea (England), Barcelona (Spain), and AC Milan (Italy), but failed to achieve the success expected of him. Ultimately, he left Europe last summer to don the Al-Nassr jersey.

While there were assessments that his career had declined, his move to Saudi Arabia instead became a catalyst for a comeback. This season, Felix recorded 20 goals and 13 assists in 33 league matches, leading Al-Nassr to the championship.

In contrast, despite his top-tier performance, Ronaldo did not emerge victorious in the race for Player of the Year. He played 37 matches across all competitions this season, scoring 30 goals to become the team's top scorer. In the league, he recorded 28 goals in 30 matches, demonstrating his consistent finishing ability. However, the Saudi Pro League's choice was Felix. Ronaldo was selected as the match MVP eight times this season. Felix received the match MVP award nine times. Both players were outstanding, but it can be said that Felix narrowly edged ahead.

A further reason for Ronaldo's disappointment is that he also missed out on the Golden Boot this season. Although Ronaldo scored the most goals in the league over the past two seasons, he finished third in the scoring race this season. The Golden Boot was claimed by Al-Qadsiah striker Julian Quiñones, who recorded 33 goals in 31 matches. Ivan Toney, who played for Brentford in the English Premier League (EPL), finished second with 32 goals. If Ronaldo had won the Golden Boot again this season, he could have become the third player in Saudi Pro League history to win the scoring title for three consecutive seasons, but unfortunately, this historic achievement was thwarted.

Additionally, the Coach of the Year award went to Al-Nassr manager Jorge Jesus, who led the team to the championship. Under Jesus, Al-Nassr recorded 28 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses (86 points), securing their 10th league title in club history and their first in seven years since the 2018-2019 season.

The American sports media outlet World Soccer Talk noted, "Ronaldo finished the season without receiving any individual awards," adding, "Ronaldo finally ended his trophy drought in Saudi Arabia. He secured his first official championship with Al-Nassr. However, despite an outstanding individual season, Ronaldo was surprisingly overlooked in the individual award categories."

The outlet further reported, "Legendary striker Ronaldo played a central role in Al-Nassr's championship. He was the club's top scorer with 30 goals in 37 matches across all competitions and scored 28 goals in the league. However, even with these results, they were not sufficient to win the Player of the Year award."

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*This content was translated by AI.