# 2024–25 Al-Nassr FC season
The 2024–25 season was Al-Nassr FC's 49th consecutive season in the top flight of Saudi football and the club's 69th year in existence, covering the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Managers | Luis Castro (dismissed 17 September 2024), then Stefano Pioli (appointed 18 September 2024, left 25 June 2025)[1](https://www.spl.com.sa/en/news/al-nassr-appoint-stefano-pioli-as-manager) • [2](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/oficial-pioli-despedido-de-al-nassr-n/) |
| Saudi Pro League | 3rd of 18; 34 played, 21 wins, 7 draws, 6 losses; 80 goals for, 38 against; 70 points[3](https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/sau2025.html) |
| Top scorer | Cristiano Ronaldo, 25 league goals in 30 games, the league's leading scorer[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/cristiano-ronaldos-thousand-goal-stare) |
| Saudi Super Cup | Lost the final 1-4 to Al-Hilal[5](https://www.profilenews.com/deftageh/2024/08/profilenews-September2024.pdf) |
| King's Cup | Eliminated in the round of 16, 0-1 against Al Taawoun[6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/misterio-con-cristiano-f202510-n/) |
| AFC Champions League Elite | Third in the league stage; knocked out in the semi-finals by Kawasaki Frontale[7](https://assets.the-afc.com/Corporate_Page/Technical/Technical_Reports/AFC-Champions-League-Elite-2024-25-Technical-Report.pdf) • [6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/misterio-con-cristiano-f202510-n/) |
| All competitions | 50 matches, 30 wins, 10 draws, 10 losses; 111 goals scored, 54 conceded[8](https://www.ceroacero.es/equipo/al-nassr/historial-por-temporada) |
## Managerial change
Al-Nassr began the season under the Portuguese coach Luís Castro, who had led the club to second place in the 2023-24 [Saudi Pro League](https://www.edgepedia.org/saudi-pro-league). After three matchweeks of the 2024-25 league season the club sat seventh, with one win and two draws, and the day after a 1-1 AFC Champions League Elite debut against Iraq's Al Shorta, Castro was dismissed on 17 September 2024.[1](https://www.spl.com.sa/en/news/al-nassr-appoint-stefano-pioli-as-manager) • [9](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/cristiano-se-queda-sin-entrenador-n/) The defeat that framed the poor start had come in the Saudi Super Cup final, where Al-Hilal beat Al-Nassr 4-1 at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City in Al-Mahalah; the club's president, Ibrahim Al-Muhaidib, resigned shortly afterwards, less than two months after taking the position.[5](https://www.profilenews.com/deftageh/2024/08/profilenews-September2024.pdf)
**Stefano Pioli takes over.** On 18 September 2024 the club appointed the Italian Stefano Pioli, who had left [AC Milan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ac-milan) that May after nearly five years in charge, including the 2021-22 [Serie A](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-a) title, Milan's first since 2011. Pioli had previously coached Palermo, Bologna, Lazio, Inter Milan, and Fiorentina, and at Al-Nassr he again worked with the Croatia midfielder [Marcelo Brozović](https://www.edgepedia.org/marcelo-brozovic), whom he had briefly managed at Inter.[1](https://www.spl.com.sa/en/news/al-nassr-appoint-stefano-pioli-as-manager) Pioli remained in charge until 25 June 2025, when he was dismissed despite a contract running to 2027, after a trophyless season that also ended without qualification for the following edition of Asia's top club competition.[2](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/oficial-pioli-despedido-de-al-nassr-n/)
## Saudi Pro League
Al-Nassr finished third in the 18-team league with 70 points from 34 matches, a record of 21 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses, scoring 80 goals and conceding 38.[3](https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/sau2025.html) Al-Ittihad won the title with 83 points and Al-Hilal took second with 75, leaving Al-Nassr 13 points behind the champion.[3](https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/sau2025.html) • [6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/misterio-con-cristiano-f202510-n/) At the halfway point of the season the club had been fourth with 35 points from 17 games, behind Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad (both on 43) and Al-Qadisiyah.[3](https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/sau2025.html)
[Cristiano Ronaldo](https://www.edgepedia.org/cristiano-ronaldo) was the league's top scorer with 25 goals in 30 games, two more than [Ivan Toney](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivan-toney).[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/cristiano-ronaldos-thousand-goal-stare) The season included a 9-0 win away to Al-Okhdood, the heaviest result of the club's league campaign.[10](https://www.besoccer.com/competition/info/pro_league_saudi_arabia/2025) A 3-1 win at Al-Hilal on 4 April 2025, in which Ronaldo scored the third goal, was part of a late push, but with two matchdays remaining the club could no longer reach the top two.[11](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/cristiano-adios-a-la-champions-n/)
## Cup competitions
**Saudi Super Cup.** As runners-up of the previous league season, Al-Nassr reached the Super Cup final in August 2024 and lost 1-4 to Al-Hilal, a result that preceded both Castro's dismissal and the president's resignation.[5](https://www.profilenews.com/deftageh/2024/08/profilenews-September2024.pdf)
**King's Cup.** The cup run ended early: Al-Nassr lost 0-1 at home to Al Taawoun in the round of 16, with Ronaldo playing the full 90 minutes without preventing the elimination.[6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/misterio-con-cristiano-f202510-n/)
## AFC Champions League Elite
Al-Nassr entered the AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25, the top Asian continental competition, for its eighth continental showing. The Riyadh side finished third in the league stage, with its only league-stage defeat coming on Matchday Six, a 1-2 home loss to [Al Sadd SC](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-sadd-sc) decided by Adam Ounas's penalty in the ninth minute of added time.[7](https://assets.the-afc.com/Corporate_Page/Technical/Technical_Reports/AFC-Champions-League-Elite-2024-25-Technical-Report.pdf) • [12](https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite.html/news/md6-al-nassr-club-ksa-1-2-al-sadd-sc-qat)
In the knockout rounds Al-Nassr drew 0-0 with Iran's Esteghlal FC in the first leg and won the return 3-0 to reach the last eight.[7](https://assets.the-afc.com/Corporate_Page/Technical/Technical_Reports/AFC-Champions-League-Elite-2024-25-Technical-Report.pdf) • [13](https://assets.the-afc.com/AFC_Congress/2026/36th-AFC-Congress-2026---Activity-Report.pdf) A 4-1 quarter-final win over Japan's Yokohama F. Marinos at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City, in which [Sadio Mané](https://www.edgepedia.org/sadio-mane) scored the second goal, completed an all-Roshn Saudi League presence in the semi-finals alongside Al Ahli and Al-Hilal.[14](https://www.spl.com.sa/en/news/al-nassr-complete-rsl-trio-in-acl-elite-semi-finals) The semi-final, a single match played at the finals stage hosted in Saudi Arabia, ended in a 2-3 home defeat to [Kawasaki Frontale](https://www.edgepedia.org/kawasaki-frontale), with Ronaldo contributing neither a goal nor an assist.[6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/misterio-con-cristiano-f202510-n/) • [15](https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite.html/news/frontale-end-al-nassr%E2%80%99s-dream-to-create-more-history) Al Ahli Saudi FC went on to win the competition, beating Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 in the final in Jeddah before a crowd of more than 58,000.[13](https://assets.the-afc.com/AFC_Congress/2026/36th-AFC-Congress-2026---Activity-Report.pdf)
## Aftermath and qualification
The third-place league finish left Al-Nassr outside the qualification places for the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Elite, because Al Ahli's continental title had already secured one of Saudi Arabia's three slots in that competition.[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/cristiano-ronaldos-thousand-goal-stare) The club instead entered the AFC Champions League Two, Asia's second-tier continental competition, for the following season, alongside the Saudi Pro League and the domestic cups.[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/cristiano-ronaldos-thousand-goal-stare) Across all competitions the team played 50 matches, winning 30, drawing 10, and losing 10, with 111 goals scored and 54 conceded.[8](https://www.ceroacero.es/equipo/al-nassr/historial-por-temporada)
## References
1. [Al Nassr appoint Stefano Pioli as manager, Saudi Pro League](https://www.spl.com.sa/en/news/al-nassr-appoint-stefano-pioli-as-manager)
2. [Pioli, fulminado de Al Nassr, Diario AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/oficial-pioli-despedido-de-al-nassr-n/)
3. [Saudi Arabia 2024/25, RSSSF](https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/sau2025.html)
4. [Cristiano Ronaldo's thousand goal stare, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/cristiano-ronaldos-thousand-goal-stare)
5. [Profile News, September 2024 edition](https://www.profilenews.com/deftageh/2024/08/profilenews-September2024.pdf)
6. [Misterio con Cristiano, Diario AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/misterio-con-cristiano-f202510-n/)
7. [AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 Technical Report, AFC](https://assets.the-afc.com/Corporate_Page/Technical/Technical_Reports/AFC-Champions-League-Elite-2024-25-Technical-Report.pdf)
8. [Historial por Temporada de Al-Nassr, Ceroacero](https://www.ceroacero.es/equipo/al-nassr/historial-por-temporada)
9. [Cristiano se queda sin entrenador, Diario AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/cristiano-se-queda-sin-entrenador-n/)
10. [Saudi Pro League 2024/25, BeSoccer](https://www.besoccer.com/competition/info/pro_league_saudi_arabia/2025)
11. [¡Cristiano, adiós a la Champions!, Diario AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/cristiano-adios-a-la-champions-n/)
12. [AFC Champions League Elite - MD6: Al Nassr Club 1-2 Al Sadd SC, AFC](https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite.html/news/md6-al-nassr-club-ksa-1-2-al-sadd-sc-qat)
13. [36th AFC Congress 2026 Activity Report, AFC](https://assets.the-afc.com/AFC_Congress/2026/36th-AFC-Congress-2026---Activity-Report.pdf)
14. [Al Nassr complete RSL trio in ACL Elite semi-finals, Saudi Pro League](https://www.spl.com.sa/en/news/al-nassr-complete-rsl-trio-in-acl-elite-semi-finals)
15. [AFC Champions League Elite - Frontale end Al Nassr’s dream to create more history](https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite.html/news/frontale-end-al-nassr%E2%80%99s-dream-to-create-more-history)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Club seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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