Al-Ahli is one of the ‘big four’, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the same country that backs Newcastle United, and finished third in the Saudi Pro League last season.
Al-Hilal dominated and easily won their 19th national title, finishing 14 points ahead of Al-Nassr and extending their own world record for most consecutive match wins to 34.
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ruben Neves arrived from Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively. The Serbian striker only scored more goals than Ronaldo and Neves only had more assists than Mahrez, while the defence, which included Kalidou Koulibaly, was poor.
The big question is when Neymar, who only played five games before suffering a knee ligament injury in October, will return. The hope is September.
Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr finished the season empty-handed despite scoring 100 goals and finishing in third place, 17 points ahead of Al-Ahli.
The fact that Al-Nassr were a winning machine has not eased the pressure on coach Luis Castro after a poor pre-season that culminated in a 4-1 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Super Cup final on Saturday.
Ronaldo will once again dominate the headlines, although it remains to be seen whether he can repeat his league-record 35 goals from last season. The 39-year-old has the likes of Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic alongside him.
Al-Ittihad from Jeddah were deserved champions in 2022/23, but finished fifth last year despite signing N’Golo Kante, Benzema and Fabinho. Coach Nuno Espirito Santo did not last long, nor did his successor Marcelo Gallardo.
The Argentine has been replaced by Laurent Blanc. With no Asian Champions League commitments and Moussa Diaby signed from Aston Villa for around £50 million, the biggest deal of the summer so far, fans are excited.
