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Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't led Al Nassr to be the most watched Saudi Pro League team

Ryan Sidle

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Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't led Al Nassr to be the most watched Saudi Pro League team

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in Saudi Arabia has boosted the number of fans coming through the gates at Al Nassr but they aren't the most watched team in the Saudi Pro League.

There is no doubt that Ronaldo boosted interest in football in the Middle East when he arrived at Al Nassr last January on a free transfer.

I'm not sure many people had given football in Saudi Arabia much thought before the signing but it's certainly been everyone's minds since.

There will no doubt be even more interest from next season with the Saudi Public Investment Fund seemingly hell bent in packing the league with as much talent as possible.

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Already Ronaldo knows that he will be reunited with former Real Madrid strike partner Karim Benzema when Al Nassr take on champions Al Ittihad in their next campaign.

The Ballon d'Or holder decided that he would end his time at the Bernabeu early in order to make a whopping amount of money elsewhere.

When the two sides meet next it will no doubt create a huge buzz around Saudi football and Ronaldo has already done that on his own.

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In the 21/22 campaign Al Nassr brought in an average of 8,121 fans into their 25,000 seater stadium and a year later that average is up to 17,638 and it surely would have been more if the five time Ballon d'Or winner had signed earlier.

However the 38-year-old's impressive numbers haven't taken his side to top of the charts and they still second behind the team who beat them to the title, according to Transfermarkt.

16. Al Batin - Capacity: 6,000. Average Attendance: 3,467

15. Al Fayha - Capacity: 7,000. Average: 3,588

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14. Abha Club - Capacity: 20,000. Average: 4,596

13. Damac - Capacity: 5,000. Average: 4,611

12. Al Shabab - Capacity: 15,000. Average: 5,400

11. Al Wehda - Capacity: 38,000. Average: 5,725

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10. Ettifaq - Capacity: 26,000. Average: 6,000

9. Khaleej - Capacity: 20,000. Average: 6,073

8. Al Raed - Capacity: 25,000. Average: 6,429

7. Al Taawoun - Capacity: 25,000 Average: 6,843

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6. Al Tai - Capacity: 12,250. Average: 7,330

5. Al Hilal - Capacity: 56,453. Average: 9,854

4. Al Fateh - Capacity: 20,000. Average: 10,804

3. Al Adalah - Capacity: 26,000. Average: 12,912

2. Al Nassr - Capacity: 25,000. Average: 17,638

1. Al Ittihad - Capacity: 62,241. Average: 40,453

Benzema will be playing in the biggest stadium in Saudi Arabia next season. Image: Alamy
Benzema will be playing in the biggest stadium in Saudi Arabia next season. Image: Alamy

Ronaldo has at least helped have the highest percentage full of any ground in Saudi Arabia, something some Premier League teams even struggle with.

The King Abdullah Sports City dwarfs Al Awwal Park but Al Hilal's King Fahd International Stadium is also massive and doesn't fill as many seats as Ronaldo's side manage.

Basically all the averages are up from a year ago so it'll be interesting to see where we are in 52 weeks time when Benzema and anyone else are bedded in.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Football, Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo

Ryan Sidle
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