Santos hopes Ronaldo will remain

Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years to score two stunning goals and propel his Al Nassr side to a thrilling 4-3 victory over Al Duhail of Qatar in the AFC Champions League.

Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane and Anderson Talisca also scored for the Saudi side late Tuesday as they made it three wins from three in the group stages of the premier Asian club competition.

Talisca opened the scoring in Riyadh from the edge of the box in the 25th minute after being teed up by the 38-year-old Ronaldo's clever back-heeled flick as the Portuguese talisman went through his full repertoire of tricks.

Mane turned and drilled home to add a second 11 minutes after the break and Al Nassr appeared to be cruising when Ronaldo curled home a sumptuous third from outside the box to make it 3-0 five minutes later.

But the Qatari side, inspired by former Barcelona and Liverpool winger Philippe Coutinho, scored twice in the next six minutes through Ismail Mohamad and Almoez Ali to leave the game on a knife-edge.

With nine minutes remaining, Ronaldo appeared to have had the final say as he sprinted on to a long ball from Sultan Al Ghannam and lashed home a superb left-foot volley without breaking stride.

There was still time for another twist as Michael Olunga pulled it back to 4-3 in the 85th minute to ensure a nervous final few minutes.

"When you face Ronaldo, there isn't much you can do," said Al Duhail manager Christophe Galtier, who was in charge of French giants Paris Saint-Germain last season.

'Best in the world' 

"He scored two beautiful goals. I'm at a loss for words to describe him. What he did today is extraordinary for a 38-year-old. He's still the best player in the world."

Another Riyadh-based side, Al Hilal, made light of being without their injured superstar Neymar as they thrashed India's Mumbai City 6-0 with two goals from former Fulham front man Aleksandar Mitrovic.

In the East zone, defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan were upset at home 2-0 by South Korea's Pohang Steelers, who netted either side of half-time in Saitama through Jeong Jae-hee and Goh Young-jun.

Urawa now face a battle to qualify for the knockout stages, having taken only four points from their three Group J games so far, level with China's Wuhan Three Towns, who beat Hanoi FC 2-1 for their first win.

"Today Pohang was the better team and deserved to win. Especially in the physical aspect, we couldn't do too much," said Urawa manager Maciej Skorza.

Japan's Kawasaki Frontale made it three wins from three with a 4-2 victory away to Thailand's BG Pathum United to open a three-point gap at the top of Group I over South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai.

Cristiano Ronaldo is responsible for transforming the Saudi Pro League, according to Brazil forward Neymar who is looking forward to facing the Portuguese international when he starts playing for Al-Hilal.

The 31-year-old Neymar signed a two-year contract with the Riyadh-based club on Tuesday after spending six years with Paris St Germain, in a deal reportedly worth about 90 million euros ($98 million).

Ronaldo, the five-times Ballon d'Or winner, joined Al-Nassr in December on a 2-1/2 year contract following his acrimonious departure from Manchester United.

"I believe Cristiano Ronaldo started all of this and everybody called him 'crazy', and this and that. Today you see the league grow more and more," Neymar said in his first interview after the transfer on Wednesday.

The Saudi Pro League has since invested over 600 million euros to lure a host of top players and coaches from European clubs.

Notable recruits include Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City.

"It is exciting, meeting top-quality players on the other teams thrills you and motivates you to play even better. And it is a given when you face Ronaldo, Benzema, (Roberto) Firmino, that the excitement is even greater," Neymar said.

Al-Hilal reappointed Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus on a one-year deal and signed former Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Ruben Neves, Serbia's Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Brazilian striker Malcom.

"I think it is very important to have quality in the squad. Obviously, it helps in some decisions you take throughout you career. It was certainly for me," Neymar said.

"I am very excited to write a new story chasing all the objectives with the club and my team mates – winning more and more titles and fulfilling the club's ambition."

Al-Hilal host Al-Feiha in the next round of the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a force in the football transfer market this year, offering eye-watering salaries that have lured a host of big names including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar to the oil-rich Gulf kingdom.

Here, AFP Sport takes a look at some of the biggest names to make the move:

The stars

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in January to play for Riyadh-based Al-Nassr is what first drew global attention to ongoing efforts to boost the Saudi Pro League.

He was followed by his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner who signed a three-year contract with Al-Ittihad in June.

Just a few days later, fellow Frenchman N'Golo Kante joined the same Jeddah-based club, also on a three-year deal.

Read more

Saudi Pro League here to stay!

The veteran and member of France's victorious 2018 World Cup squad will form a partnership with Brazilian Fabinho, arriving from Liverpool, in midfield.

Still buzzing from his historic FA Cup semi-final hat-trick for Manchester City in April, Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez has signed for four years with Jeddah-based Al-Ahli, a transfer estimated at 35 million euros.

Senegalese star Sadio Mane, who helped Liverpool to the Premier League and Champions League titles before heading to a Bundesliga crown with Bayern Munich, signed with Ronaldo's Al-Nassr at the start of this month for a reported annual salary of 40 million euros plus 10 million euros in results-based bonuses.

The latest coup for the Saudis is Brazil forward Neymar who signed on Tuesday for Al-Hilal on a two-year contract after six seasons with French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Sources close to the deal say his salary, like Benzema and Kante, will be around 100 million euros per season.

PSG are likely to receive the same amount as a fee, considerably less than the world record fee of 222 million euros they paid Barcelona for his services in 2017.

Past their prime 

Along with top-tier stars, several other big names in the sport are starting new chapters in Saudi Arabia.

Marcelo Brozovic, who captained Inter Milan in last season's Champions League final, has signed a three-year deal with Al-Nassr, who reportedly paid a transfer fee of 18 million euros.

Ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has joined Al-Ettifaq until 2026, drawing heavy criticism given his past support for the LGBTQ community and the fact that Saudi Arabia outlaws homosexuality.

Another former Liverpool star, Brazilian international Roberto Firmino, left the team after eight seasons for Al-Ahli, who have also landed Edouard Mendy of Senegal.

Kalidou Koulibaly, for his part, bade farewell to Stamford Bridge for Al-Hilal for a reported transfer fee of 23 million euros.

Rising talent 

It is not just fading stars who are making the trip to the Gulf.

The 28-year-old Ivorian midfielder Seko Fofana has also joined Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, leaving French outfit Lens as they prepare to return to the Champions League.

After eight years with Lazio, Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, also 28, has inked a three-year deal with Al-Hilal.

He will be joined by 26-year-old Ruben Neves, the Portuguese star who was previously tipped for a move to Barcelona.

Another 26-year-old, Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin, has joined Al-Ahli from Newcastle, which is 80-percent owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.

The coaches 

The Saudi Pro League has also drawn renowned coaches.

Dismissed by Aston Villa in October, iconic former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard signed with Al-Ettifaq until 2025, and a clip of him introducing himself in halting Arabic has gone viral on social media.

Former Croatia and West Ham boss Slaven Bilic will join the Al-Fateh bench.

After leaving Fenerbahce in June, former Benfica coach Jorge Jesus has returned to Al-Hilal, where he worked in 2018-2019.

And in late July, Al-Ahli named 35-year-old German Matthias Jaissle, regarded as one of the most promising managers of his generation, as their new coach.

Bruno Fernandes ran the show for Portugal as they romped to a record 9-0 win over Luxembourg on Monday in Euro 2024 qualifying.match without suspended talisman and all-time top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Roberto Martinez's side have now won all six of their qualifying games, without conceding a single goal and scoring 24 themselves, with this the country's largest ever victory.

Portugal lead the Group J standings, five points clear of Slovakia in second place, whom they beat in Bratislava on Friday. Luxembourg are third, three points behind Slovakia.

Manchester United playmaker Fernandes, who scored Portugal's winner against Slovakia, laid on three goals as the Selecao filled their boots and scored one himself.

Goncalo Ramos, Diogo Jota and Goncalo Inacio struck two goals each, while Ricardo Horta and Joao Felix also scored.

Martinez, who replaced Fernando Santos after the Qatar World Cup, has a 100 percent record at the helm to date.

"We are still at the beginning of a new era with a new coach and we are still taking on board the coach's ideas," said Jota.

"Today we set a reference point match (to look at in) the future."

Sporting Lisbon defender Inacio sent the hosts ahead in the 12th minute with a header from Fernandes' exquisite cross with the outside of his foot.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Ramos drilled home the second five minutes later after Fernandes pressed high to win the ball back.

The 22-year-old striker then grabbed another goal in the 33rd minute with a clever turn and clinical finish for his sixth goal in eight appearances for his country.

Liverpool striker Jota hit the crossbar as Portugal dominated at the Algarve stadium near the country's south coast.

Inacio headed home his second goal from another Fernandes cross on the stroke of half-time and Jota struck early in the second half for the fifth, set up by the Red Devils midfielder again.

Portugal thrashed Luxembourg 6-0 in their first clash in the Grand Duchy and Horta rifled home from the edge of the box for their sixth of the night to match the haul.

Jota, who set up Horta, walloped home the seventh as Portugal continued pushing on without remorse, and Fernandes capped his virtuoso display by netting the eighth.

That matched their previous best win, 8-0 on three occasions, but substitute Felix struck a superb ninth from the edge of the box to set Portugal's new record.

"We have a great group of players, we take every game very seriously," said Horta.

"We're on the right track, but we have things to improve. Against Slovakia we played a game that was not at the level this team (can offer)."

Martinez's side can qualify for Euro 2024 on October 13 if they beat Slovakia and Luxembourg fail to beat Iceland.

Chinese football fans raced on Wednesday to snap up tickets to see Cristiano Ronaldo play a rare match in their home country, with multiple online platforms selling out within a few hours.

Ronaldo is immensely popular in football-mad China, where many supporters have grown weary of dismal national team performances and the corruption-ridden domestic game.

The Portuguese star's current club, Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, last month announced a "China Tour" featuring friendlies against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang FC in the southern city of Shenzhen on January 24 and 28 respectively.

Fans frantically vied with each other as the coveted tickets went on sale online a little after 11:00 am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, with multiple platforms showing no available tickets by the evening.

Several media outlets reported that seats in all but the two most expensive categories had sold out "within seconds".

Amid a sea of disappointment on social media, some lucky buyers voiced unbridled joy.

"On January 24, I will be the happiest girl in the whole world," wrote one satisfied customer on Weibo.

"Whatever you think of Ronaldo, you can't deny his greatness as a player," said another. "Today his China tickets came on sale, and I actually got one!"

Ronaldo's perennial rival Lionel Messi electrified Beijing's Workers' Stadium last year when he scored after 79 seconds to lead world champions Argentina to a 2-0 friendly win over Australia.

And fans of the South American maestro wasted no time in mocking what they claimed was weaker interest in Ronaldo's visit.

"Ronny fans must be so happy. His replica shirts get cheaper each year, and now they barely have to scramble for tickets," quipped one Weibo user.