Al-Nassr Wins Saudi Pro League Title with Simakan's Goal

Riyadh has its champion again. Al-Nassr are Saudi Pro League winners for 2025-26, ending a six-year wait and dragging a familiar name back to the top of the domestic game.

They did it the hard way, and in the sweetest way possible: by beating Al-Hilal in a tense derby on Tuesday night. One goal decided it, a precise, decisive finish from former Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan in a 1-0 victory that will be replayed in Al-Nassr folklore for years.

The stakes were clear before kick-off. Win, and the title was within touching distance. Win against their fiercest rivals, and it was theirs. Simakan’s strike delivered exactly that, triggering celebrations that rolled from the pitch to the stands and across the capital.

The result did more than settle a derby. It slammed the door on the last remaining challenger. Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates now sit eight points clear of Karim Benzema’s side, with only two matches left. The gap is unbridgeable. The mathematics are done. The trophy is theirs.

For Al-Nassr, this is league title number ten, a landmark that underlines their status among the giants of Saudi football. It is also the first league crown of the Ronaldo era, arriving three years after the Portuguese superstar’s headline-grabbing move in 2022.

Ronaldo’s presence has always been about more than goals and shirt sales. His arrival demanded that Al-Nassr think and act like serial winners. Now the medals finally match the ambition. With this triumph, he adds another domestic league to a career already lined with them: Premier League with Manchester United, La Liga with Real Madrid, Serie A with Juventus, and now the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr.

The question lingers over what comes next. A new title in Riyadh is already secured. This summer, another challenge with Portugal waits on the horizon.