"I expected to win something this year" - Cristiano Ronaldo opens up on trophyless first season at Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo had a mixed experience in his first half-season at Al-Nassr. While the Portuguese forward has been magnificent on a personal level, scoring 14 goals and providing two assists in 19 games, the team went trophyless.

Ronaldo opened up on his first few months at the club. In a recent interview with the Saudi Pro League's official media, he claimed that despite his hopes of winning a trophy, things don't always go as wanted. The 38-year-old said:

"My expectation was a little bit different. To be honest. I expected to win something this year. But not always the way things go the way we want. Sometimes we need patience consistency and persistence to achieve things."

Cristiano Ronaldo further added:

"We improved a lot. Let’s say this last five six months, the team improve a lot. Even the league, all the teams improve and my team as well. It takes time sometimes. But, if you believe it's your goal, I think everything is possible. I expected to win something this year but we didn't. But, next year I am really positive and confident that things will change and we'll do in a better way. So, let’s believe on that and work on that."

Al-Nassr finished five points behind champions Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League table. They were also eliminated from the King's Cup of Champions semi-finals by Al-Wehda.

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Cristiano Ronaldo on how he has impacted Al-Nassr teammates

Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Alongside his talent, his discipline, work ethic, and focus on minute details have helped the Portuguese stay at the top of the game for more than 15 years.

He was asked whether his presence has impacted his Al-Nassr teammates. Ronaldo claimed that it has as other players have started taking better care of themselves. He said:

"Of course. They felt the way I am, my discipline, my ethic of work. It's not by coincidence that I played higher level for 20 years. It's not as they call, genetics."

He added:

"The genetics, it's important, the other factors are important too. It's not genetic, it's what you do with your genetic, that's gonna be the difference. I think I helped many many other players the way they see fitness, it's way of life."

Having a professional like Ronaldo is a blessing for any teammate. Al-Nassr players have an opportunity that few would have thought would have been possible a year ago.