Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, and the other prominent players of Al Nassr found themselves preparing for their match in a changing room reminiscent of a ‘Sunday League’ setup.
The Saudi Pro League continues its pattern of investing substantial sums in both salaries and transfer fees for a range of well-known players.
The top four teams, benefiting from a significant budget, appear to have virtually limitless resources, largely due to their affiliation with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
However, the financial resources and facilities for some of the lower-ranking teams in the Saudi top division are notably different.
In a recent away fixture against Al Fateh, Al Nassr emerged triumphant with a convincing score of five goals, including a hat-trick by Ronaldo and a brace from Mane under the guidance of manager Luis Castro.
The evident gap in quality wasn’t limited to the gameplay; images of the away dressing room at Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium garnered significant attention, illustrating the disparities in conditions.
The room was anything but state-of-the-art and the shirts were laid out on chairs which looked like they were from a conference room of some sorts.
What is this al nassr changing room😭 pic.twitter.com/Cj8dOkSNTp
— Chragic (@kevindegoatt) August 25, 2023
And fans were in disbelief over the less than impressive conditions Ronaldo and company had to contend with.
One said: “I thought the Saudi league was rich.”
A second commented: “Spent billions on washed up players but zero infrastructure.
A third had the same view, writing: “Spend millions on players and salaries but can’t do the same for something as simple as a dressing room.”
A fourth user added: “All that money on wages and their dressing room doesn’t even come close to a Sunday league dressing room.”
Another joked: “Ronaldo getting changed in a conference room there.”
A final person wrote: “All that money and this is your away dressing room.”
This is Al Nassr real dressing room https://t.co/gayfNXXizs pic.twitter.com/hWOur1UtoL
— د.نوتلاّ (@bnkdx) August 25, 2023
It’s worth noting that Al Nassr’s dressing room is incredibly spacious, with comfortable seats and a stylish design but clearly not all clubs are on the same playing field.
After their first win of the new season, Al Nassr host Al Shabab in their next outing on Tuesday.