Al Nassr star Ronaldo opens up on Saudi Pro League future
By Lee Seng Foo8 months ago
(Saudi Pro League)
Cristiano Ronaldo reaffirmed his commitment to Al Nassr and the Saudi Pro League after inspiring a 4-0 victory over Al Hazem on Sunday.
The 41-year-old scored twice as Al Nassr secured their eighth consecutive league win, a result that saw them leapfrog Al Hilal at the top of the standings.
The Portugal captain later joined Saudi Arabia’s Founding Day celebrations by donning a traditional bisht following the match.
Ronaldo, who missed league fixtures against Al Riyadh and Al Ittihad earlier this month amid renewed speculation about his future, Ronaldo dismissed rumours of a potential departure.
“As I say so many times, I belong to Saudi Arabia. It’s a country that welcomed very well to me and my family and my friends. I’m happy here and I want to continue here,” he said after the match.
“And the most important, it’s we keep pushing. We are there in the top. Our job is to win, make pressure [on our title rivals], and let’s see.
“We are on track. We’re back; we are good; we are confident. Game by game. We are in a good shape. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”
Ronaldo’s brace also lifted his overall career goal tally to 964, moving him closer to the 1000-goal milestone.
MotoGP heads to Lusail for the Qatar Grand Prix on November 6-8, with the floodlit circuit hosting the championship’s final stop outside Europe this season.
Fans can watch every practice, qualifying session, Sprint and Grand Prix live on SPOTV NOW. Here are five things to know ahead of the weekend.
Match point for Marquez
Marc Marquez has his first opportunity to secure an eighth MotoGP world title in Qatar, arriving with a 44-point lead over Jorge Martin after winning in Malaysia.
The Ducati rider has won twice in the premier class at Lusail, in 2014 and 2025, with last year’s victory coming alongside a Sprint win. Repeating that double would bring him another 37 points and the championship if Martin scores no more than seven across the weekend.
Martin withdrew from Sepang while recovering from his wrist injury. If he also misses Qatar, Marc would need at least 30 points to put him out of contention.
Marco Bezzecchi remains a factor too. The Aprilia rider trails Marc by 67 points, but a Marquez double would also end his title hopes regardless of where he finishes.
The Qatar grid will be missing Yamaha’s teams after the Japanese manufacturer decided to maintain their company-wide restrictions on travel to the Middle East, with Yamaha planning to return in Portugal later this month.
MotoGP said the race would proceed following consultations with Qatari authorities and independent safety advisers and also warned that Yamaha’s absence carried contractual and sporting implications, with the FIM responsible for any sporting consequences.
Qatar’s November date changes the conditions teams would usually prepare for, but Lusail is not entirely unfamiliar territory at this stage of the year. The circuit also hosted MotoGP in November 2023, when Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed his first premier-class victory after the event was moved to accommodate circuit upgrades.
November is generally cooler than April during the day, potentially easing the physical demands on riders after the heat of Sepang. However, the evening temperatures and changing grip between daytime practice and night racing will still matter. Wind-blown sand can also affect the surface, giving teams more to consider than the temperature alone.
Moto2’s championship fight is now down to Manuel Gonzalez and Izan Guevara, with just 3.5 points separating the Spanish pair. Gonzalez leads on 276.5 points after finishing fifth in Malaysia, one place behind Guevara, who moved to 273.
With three races and a maximum of 75 points remaining, third-placed Ivan Ortola can no longer catch the leader. His total of 199.5 leaves him 77 points behind. Neither contender can settle the championship in Qatar, ensuring their contest continues to Portugal.
The Moto4 Asia Cup will crown its 2026 champion at Lusail, with two races remaining and three riders still in contention.
Japan’s Hayato Chishiki leads on 161 points, ahead of Indonesia’s Bintang Pranata on 129 and fellow Japanese rider Waku Kunitate on 121. Chishiki strengthened his position by winning Sunday’s race at Sepang after Pranata received a track-limits penalty, while Kunitate crashed at the final corner.
With 50 points available in Qatar, the leader can finish the job in the opening race. Second place would guarantee the title, while finishing ahead of both rivals would also put him beyond reach before the final race.
Yamaha will miss this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix because of company-wide travel restrictions, becoming the first MotoGP team since Forward Racing in 2015 to sit out an entire round for reasons other than rider injury or unavailability.
The Japanese manufacturer announced their withdrawal on Sunday after the Malaysian Grand Prix, saying its latest assessment of the situation in the Middle East had not provided sufficient grounds to lift those restrictions.
The decision rules out factory riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins as well as Jack Miller from the November 6-8 event at Lusail as Yamaha plan to return at the Portuguese Grand Prix later this month.
MotoGP expressed disappointment with the withdrawal and said the race would proceed, citing consultations with Qatari authorities, Lusail International Circuit and independent safety advisers.
“We do not believe this decision reflects the extensive assurances provided to all championship stakeholders,” MotoGP said.
The championship added the rest of the grid had confirmed their participation and also warned that Yamaha’s absence carried contractual and sporting implications, with any sporting consequences to be determined by the FIM under its regulations.
Qatar was originally scheduled to host its Grand Prix in April before the regional conflict forced its postponement.
An entire team missing a weekend is unusual in the modern MotoGP era since 2002, but financial and operational problems have caused several previous absences.
Forward Racing skipped the 2015 Indianapolis Grand Prix after the arrest of team owner Giovanni Cuzari disrupted its funding and sponsor arrangements.
The team returned at the following round in Brno, where Loris Baz finished 15th.
Ilmor’s absence proved longer, as the British-based manufacturer withdrew after the opening round of the 2007 season in Qatar because of a lack of sponsorship and never returned to race in MotoGP.
Team Roberts also missed six rounds in 2005 amid problems with KTM’s engine supply and support, but Kenny Roberts’ outfit returned for the Valencia finale with Kurtis Roberts riding their older Proton V5 machine.
Yamaha’s withdrawal comes as the championship heads into its final three rounds, with Marc Marquez leading Jorge Martin by 44 points after winning Sunday’s race at Sepang.
Fans can watch MotoGP live on SPOTV NOW.
Jannik Sinner congratulated friend Kimi Antonelli after the Mercedes driver became Formula One’s youngest world champion at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Italian tennis star sent a video message celebrating his compatriot’s first title, secured with third place behind race winner Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
“Kimi, you are the new world champion of this year and it sounds amazing,” he said.
“You made the whole country very happy and enjoy this beautiful moment.”
At 20 years and 68 days, Antonelli broke Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest champion and became the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
He arrived in Mexico needing only ninth place to settle the championship, but finished on the podium after starting fourth.
Verstappen held off Hamilton by 0.799s to win a race interrupted by a heavy crash for Valtteri Bottas and a late safety car following Arvid Lindblad’s accident.
Sinner’s message continued a friendship that has seen the pair support each other across their sports.
The five-time Grand Slam winner visited Antonelli at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where the Mercedes driver took him for a high-speed lap of the Yas Marina circuit in a Mercedes-AMG GT 63.
Antonelli visited Wimbledon with Roger Federer in July, a day after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and met Sinner during the tournament.
Sinner went on to retain his Wimbledon title, beating Alexander Zverev in the final.
The Milwaukee Brewers continued celebrating their first World Series title at NFL and NBA games, joining supporters of the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Bucks after returning to Wisconsin.
Their first stop was Lambeau Field on Thursday, where Brandon Woodruff displayed the Commissioner’s Trophy during Green Bay’s meeting with the Carolina Panthers.
Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick were among the Brewers who appeared on the field to cheers from the crowd.
Frelick took the opportunity to perform a Lambeau Leap, joining fans in the front row of the stands for the celebration associated with Packers touchdowns.
The Packers went on to beat Carolina 27-19.
Two days later, Jackson Chourio, Cooper Pratt, Dustin May and Antonio Senzatela attended the Bucks’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Fiserv Forum.
The Brewers watched from courtside as Cleveland won 136-111.
Between those appearances, Milwaukee held its championship parade on Friday, bringing players, coaches and former Brewers together with fans in the city centre.
The celebrations followed Wednesday’s 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5, which secured a 4-1 World Series triumph.
Milwaukee won 11 of their 13 playoff games, including a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers that ended the defending champions’ pursuit of a third straight title.
It was the Brewers’ first World Series appearance since their seven-game defeat by the St Louis Cardinals in 1982.
Although the championship was a first for the franchise, Milwaukee had previously celebrated a World Series winner in 1957, when the Braves beat the New York Yankees before later relocating to Atlanta.
The Brewers now join the Bucks, who won the NBA title in 2021, among Wisconsin’s recent major sporting champions.
