Al Nassr pre-season 2023/24: Fixtures and schedule

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr have been forced to focus on pre-season fixtures rather than player presentations after a transfer ban from FIFA.

How long Al Nassr’s punishment – which FIFA handed out in mid-July for the club’s outstanding debts to Leicester City – lasts remains to be seen. However, while the rest of the Saudi Pro League piles up high-profile acquisitions, the Al Nassr spotlight has shifted to matters on the pitch.

Here’s everything you need to know about the club’s first pre-season preparations since signing Ronaldo in December.

Al Nassr played to their strengths when it came to planning the upcoming pre-season. Almost the entire month of July will be spent in Portugal, Ronaldo’s home nation. Ironically, Ronaldo was not involved in the club’s first two friendlies as he was given time off after representing the Portuguese national team. During the June outings, Ronaldo became the first man to ever make 200 international appearances.

After the ‘Portugal Camp’, as the club are calling it, Al Nassr will jet off to Japan – where Ronaldo’s following isn’t much smaller. It is in Japan where Ronaldo has advertised some of his more unorthodox products, such as an electronic abdomen exerciser and a facial fitness device that promises to replicate the footballer’s jawline.

Al Nassr were treated to a gentle opening schedule of fixtures. After beginning the pre-season campaign against FC Alverca, a team that plays its football in the Portuguese third tier, Al Nassr lined up against a Farense side that was promoted to the top flight last term.

Celta Vigo only avoided relegation from La Liga on the final day of the season but took advantage of a second-half red card to beat Al Nassr 5-0. The Saudi side finish their Iberian itinerary with a match against reigning Primeira Liga champions Benfica.

There are just five days between Al Nassr’s meeting with Benfica and their next friendly 7,000 miles away in Osaka, Japan. Ronaldo’s side face Ligue 1 winners PSG and last term’s defeated Champions League finalists Inter in the same Yanmar Stadium Nagai within 48 hours.

Marcelo Brozovic made his first start for Al Nassr in the friendly against Celta Vigo despite the club’s transfer ban. Ronaldo also made his maiden appearance of the off-season before he was substituted in the second half.

With Al Nassr already 2-0 down, Portuguese fans in the Algarve quickly forgot about the contest to flock towards Ronaldo’s position off the pitch.

Anderson Talisca, Al Nassr’s top scorer and protagonist before Ronaldo’s mid-season arrival in December, lined up behind the Portuguese forward as new manager Luis Castro attempts to find a way of getting the best out of both players.

Despite the international interest that Ronaldo generates, the television coverage of Al Nassr’s friendlies is surprisingly scant. Portugal’s SPORT.TV will broadcast the matches that take place on Portuguese soil but live footage is unavailable outside of Iberia.

PSG TV will cover Al Nassr’s match against the French champions while the Saudi side’s social media channels are often quick to release small clips of each contest.

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