The Saudi Pro League 2024-25 football tournament will feature icons Cristiano RonaldoKarim Benzema and Sadio Mane when the season kicks off on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Saudi club Al Nassr in January last year, will once again be a marquee player, leading the star-studded lineup for the tournament. The Portuguese star was the top scorer in the league last season, with 35 goals in 31 matches.
The Saudi Pro League 2024-25 will be available for live streaming and telecast in India.
Sadio Mane will join Ronaldo at Al Nassr while Karim Benzema will play for Al-Ittihad.
Premier League winners Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino are with Al Ahli, France’s FIFA World Cup-winning midfielder N’golo Kante will take the field for Al Ittihad, and former Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will play for Al Qadsiah.
Among managers, former English midfielder Steven Gerrard is set for a second season with Al Ettifaq. Meanwhile, Laurent Blanc, a FIFA World Cup winner with France, will be the head coach of Al Ittihad.
Al Hilal, the defending champions, are also the most successful team in the league with 19 titles.
Spearheaded by Alexander Mitrovic’s 28 goals, Al Hilal won the league last season comfortably. They remained unbeaten in the campaign, winning 31 of the 34 matches to finish 14 points above second-placed Al Nassr.
The new season will continue in the same format. A total of 18 teams will compete in a round-robin system and the club with the most points at the end will be crowned champions. Each team will play 34 matches.
The Saudi Football Federation has also increased the foreign player quota to 10 ahead of the new season. Two of these 10 players need to be aged 21 or younger. A team can play a maximum of eight foreign players in the squad.
Where to watch Saudi Pro League 2024-25 live in India
The Saudi Pro League 2024-25 matches will be telecast live on the Sony Sports 2 and Sony Sports 5 TV channels in India. Live streaming of the Saudi Pro League will be available on Sony LIV. The service is not free and will require a subscription.
