
Saudi Pro League teams enter the 32-team continental tournament with Al-Ahli defending their title.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr and defending champions Al-Ahli prepare for the upcoming AFC Champions League Elite tournament, featuring 32 teams split into two geographic zones.
AI-generated summary
Saudi Pro League teams have spent more than US$2 billion on foreign players since 2023.
What could be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last chance to win a first AFC Champions League Elite title for his Saudi club will get under way next week.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr are one of five Saudi Pro League teams in the tournament. Combined, they have spent more than US$2 billion on foreign players since 2023, with Al-Ahli lifting the continental trophy in each of the past two seasons.
Al-Ahli captain and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is hoping to make it three in a row in the 32-team tournament.
“This is the biggest club in Saudi Arabia and Asia, and we will do everything to win,” Mendy, who signed from English Premier League club Chelsea in 2023, said. “Last year, we won the Champions League and we will have to use all the things we did then to be successful this time, too. We are building year after year.”
One competition, two zones
The tournament is divided into two geographic zones until the playoffs, with the top eight teams from each progressing to the round of 16.
Al-Ahli start their defence against Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan in the western zone. Saudi league champion Al-Nassr’s roster contains 41-year-old Ronaldo and his Portugal teammate Joao Felix, the domestic league player of the season. Al-Nassr was a finalist in the second-tier continental championship last season.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Al-Ahli will start their defense against Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan
Very likely · Within days

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