Al Nassr has opened the 2026-27 season with an important strategic signal: the club is increasingly capable of competing without depending entirely on Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Riyadh side defeated Al Fateh 3-0 in the opening round of the Saudi Pro League before overcoming Al Diriyah 4-1 in the last 32 of the King’s Cup. The second result was particularly significant because Ronaldo was absent, while João Félix emerged as the central attacking figure with two goals. Mohamed Simakan and Abdullah Al-Hamdan completed the scoring for Al Nassr, while Óscar Rodríguez scored Al Diriyah’s only goal.

The results matter beyond the scoreboard. Following the departure of Jorge Jesus and the arrival of Ange Postecoglou, Al Nassr appears to be developing a more flexible attacking structure. The team’s movement across the forward line has offered an early indication that its attacking identity can survive the absence of its biggest global star.

That development could become strategically important if Ronaldo’s current season proves to be the final chapter of his career. Rather than treating his eventual departure as an immediate crisis, Al Nassr can use the current campaign to establish a broader sporting identity in which the team is built around a collective system rather than one individual.

João Félix is central to that transition. His performances at the beginning of the campaign have increased his value not only as a player but also as a potential cornerstone of the club’s next sporting cycle. His contract is scheduled to run until June 30, 2027, meaning Al Nassr will eventually have to make an important decision over his long-term future if his performances continue at the current level.

From a squad-building perspective, however, the early success should not conceal the remaining gaps. The team still needs reinforcement in central defence, both full-back positions and the foreign striker position. These requirements suggest that Al Nassr’s priority should not be simply adding high-profile names, but allocating resources toward positions that can increase depth and maintain competitive balance throughout a demanding season.

The financial dimension is equally important. The club is operating under tighter financial monitoring while rivals such as Al Hilal continue to make significant moves in the transfer market. That creates a different strategic challenge for Al Nassr: instead of competing with every rival signing on a deal-by-deal basis, the club needs to maximise the value of the squad it already possesses and target additions that directly address sporting weaknesses.

This approach could ultimately prove more sustainable than an unrestricted transfer strategy. A squad with tactical continuity can reduce the cost of constant rebuilding, while the emergence of players such as Félix gives the club an opportunity to establish a new commercial and sporting identity around a younger core.

The contrast with Al Hilal is therefore not simply about the number of transfers completed. Al Nassr currently benefits from greater familiarity within its squad and a clearer level of integration between its different lines, while Al Hilal’s larger recruitment activity still has to translate into comparable tactical cohesion.

For Al Diriyah, the 4-1 defeat represents a different kind of challenge. The club, participating in the Saudi Pro League for the first time, began the season against Al Ahli before facing Al Nassr in the King’s Cup. Two difficult fixtures in succession have exposed the gap between an ambitious emerging project and the experience required to compete consistently against Saudi football’s established elite.

The issue for Al Diriyah extends beyond two defeats. Early setbacks can affect confidence, commercial momentum and perceptions surrounding a new sporting project. The club had also been linked with a move for Malcom, but the Brazilian winger instead agreed to join Al Jazira on a three-year deal, according to reports cited in the original article.

For Al Nassr, the broader picture is more encouraging. The club does not yet have a complete squad, but its early results suggest that the foundations of a post-Ronaldo sporting model are already emerging. The immediate objective should be to preserve that stability, protect its most productive players and use recruitment selectively.

The next phase of Al Nassr’s development will therefore be measured not only by trophies, but by whether the club can convert Ronaldo’s enormous individual brand value into a durable institutional identity. If it succeeds, the transition from the Ronaldo era could become less a question of replacing a superstar and more an opportunity to build a team capable of sustaining its competitive and commercial position on its own.