The Saudi Pro League has announced Joao Felix as their player of the season, an honour that has eluded Cristiano Ronaldo despite his pivotal role in leading Al-Nassr to the league title. Captains and coaches of the league's 18 teams comprised the majority of the vote, with fans and media members also contributing to the decision.
Ronaldo, who is among the captains whose selections accounted for 40 per cent of the vote—weighted equally with their head coaches—saw the award go to his teammate. Eighteen journalists also had their say, accounting for 15 per cent, while fans contributed the remaining five per cent. Ivan Toney, Julian Quinones, and Ruben Neves were also among the nominees. Voting closed on Monday, before the final round of matches.
Ronaldo's Season Highlights
Ronaldo scored twice on the final day to take his goal tally to 28 as Al-Nassr won 4-1 against Damac to clinch the league title. Despite his impressive goal-scoring form, Felix’s all-round contributions proved decisive in the voting. Felix set up Sadio Mane for their opener for his 13th assist of the season, more than any other player.
In his debut campaign after signing from Chelsea, where he unfortunately flopped, the forward also scored 20 times. Only four other players managed more goals, with Ronaldo one of those, finishing as the third top goalscorer. The Golden Boot went to Julian Quinones for his 33 goals after a final-day hat-trick. Ivan Toney finished one strike short after going scoreless in Al-Ahli's last match.
Felix's All-Round Performance
Felix beat Ronaldo in combined goals and assists, with 33. That tops his teammate's 30 after the 41-year-old managed just two assists. Toney, however, leads the league in that respect with seven assists, adding the last on the final day. That took him to 39, two ahead of Quinones on 37.
Away from the stats, Felix was the only individual to win multiple player of the month awards, doing so in September and then again in May. Ronaldo did not win one, with Kostas Fortounis (October), Georginio Wijnaldum (November), Toney (January), Yannick Carrasco (February), and Valentin Vada (April) the other winners.
Ronaldo's last player of the month honour came in May 2024, which was his fifth of that first full season in the league. However, the league did not hand out that season-long award after that campaign, and Karim Benzema won it last term, so Ronaldo has yet to win it.
Felix's Impact and Praise for Coach
This season, Felix also has nine player of the match awards from his 33 appearances. He paid tribute to coach Jorge Jesus after the team's title win. He said of the former Al Hilal boss: "Playing football makes me happy; playing my position. The coach gave me so much confidence. He put me to play to command the team, to help the team, be one of the focuses of the team, and I think when that happens, the things goes well."
Jesus also won the coach of the season award and singled out Ronaldo after their triumph. He said: "This is a victory for everyone, and especially for Cristiano, because he had not yet won any title in Saudi Arabia." The coach also confirmed he is leaving the club, saying: "I only accepted this challenge because I told him that I would help him to be champion: 'let's win the title and then I'll leave,' which is the case. For me, it's over, it's the last game I'll play with Al Nassr."
