Ronaldo Benzema leads! Here are 5 things you must know about the Saudi Pro League

This weekend, the new season of the Saudi Pro League will kick off, and Tencent News will bring fans a live video. In order to facilitate fans and friends to watch the game, the author will make a comprehensive analysis for you from the following five aspects.

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(1) Stars gather

At the beginning of this year, Ronaldo joined Riyadh Victory, bringing huge exposure to the entire Saudi professional league. After tasting the sweetness of the "superstar effect", the Saudi royal family proceeded from the overall development of the country, invested heavily in the Saudi professional league, and signed top stars for major teams in the way of quota designation to further strengthen the league's momentum.

Jota, Ronaldo and Neves

This summer, Riyadh triumphantly purged Gustavo, Pitti Martinez and Masharipov, and brought in Seko Fofana, Brozovic and Mane in the opposite to improve the face and strength of the central midfield. Compared with the second half of last season, Ronaldo received more support, and the team's attack was more three-dimensional.

Defending champions Jeddah United brought in Benzema, N'Golo, Jota and Fabinho, and Nuno Santo's 4-4-2 system is basically in place from the performance of the Arab Club Champions Cup, and even if the Golden Boot Hamed may leave the team, Jeddah United has enough solutions to maintain the stability of the core structure.

Jeddah United

As last season's AFC Champions League runner-up, Riyadh Crescent purged Marega, Ighalo and Jang Hyun-so, while newly arrived Malcolm, Milinkovic, Ruben Neves and Koulibaly have stronger individual strength. If nothing else, Riyadh Crescent will also bring in a strong center before closing the window to make up for the lack of attacking ability.

Jeddah National, who has just been promoted, is the thinnest team among the four giants, and it is precisely for this reason that the team has received more "care". Since the beginning of the summer window, the team has brought in Edouard Mendy, Firmino, Mahrez, Saint-Maximin, Casey and Roger Ibáñez. Coupled with Leeds' old Alioski returning on loan, Jeddah National can put out a very eye-catching luxury lineup.

Jeddah nationals

(2) Jeddah National upgrade, the four giants ranked first

After the upgrading of Jeddah nationals, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which has a royal background, purchased 75% of the shares of the four giants (Jeddah National, Jeddah United, Riyadh Victory, Riyadh Crescent), and after receiving strong capital injection, the four giants have also invested heavily to further upgrade the staff.

From the perspective of lineup strength, the four giants are in the first group, and the lead is also obvious.

(3) The Al Hasa Conquest and Dammam cooperation are expected to hit the top four of the league

In the second echelon, the strength of Ahsa Conquest and Dammam cooperation is the most prominent, and if you want to break the monopoly position of the four giants, you can only hope for these two clubs.

The 78-year-old Dammam team is a veteran powerhouse in Saudi football, having won two league titles. This season, Dammam has invited Gerrard to coach and signed England midfielder Henderson, Scotland international Hendry and French striker Moussa Dembele, and the equally significant Hasa Conquest signed Croatian coach Bilic this summer, bringing in Armenian international Zelalayan (born in Argentina) and Belgium's iron gate Denayer at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. If nothing else, these two teams will continue to bring in strong reinforcements before the window closes.

Gerard and Henderson

(4) Famous marshals gather

In addition to the aforementioned Gerrard and Bilic, several top coaches have come to Saudi Arabia, including Luis Castro (Riyadh Victory), Jaisler (Jeddah National), Jorge Jesus (Riyadh Crescent), Jovičević (Breidai Vanguard), Mihnević (Abha) and Kaiser (Riyadh Juniors).

(5) Four rises and two descents, expanding to 18 teams

At the end of the 2022/23 season, the Saudi Pro League expanded from 16 teams to 18 teams through a "four rises, two drops" approach. Among them, Batim and Hasa Justice were relegated to the Saudi First Division (Saudi Sub-League), while Jeddah National, Hassen, Akkodo and Riyadh Sports were promoted to the Saudi Pro League. According to the rules of the new season: the top two in the league go straight to the AFC Champions League group stage, and the bottom three are relegated.

Tencent News will video broadcast the Saudi Premier League this season, is Cristiano Ronaldo conquering the Middle East? Or did the "Premier League column" led by Benzema stand out? What is the power of the former overlord Riyadh Crescent? What kind of play will the "dark horse" Jeddah people play? Stay tuned for Tencent News and follow the 23-24 season of the Saudi Premier League!

Saudi Pro League