Video: debate among Saudi football legends: does Ronaldo deserve Benzema's fate?
A debate about the level of "the Don"
Sami Al-Jaber, the Al-Hilal legend, has called on the management of their rivals Al-Nassr to consider a major attacking change, pointing to what "the Chief" did with France's Karim Benzema. His plea came after "Al-Alami" fell to Al-Ittihad in the top clash of the fifth round of the Saudi Roshn League.
Al-Ittihad beat Al-Nassr 2-1 at home on Saturday evening. The result piled more criticism on Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, the team's captain, who once again failed to steer "Al-Alami" to a positive result from a summit clash.
The gap between Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal
Al-Jaber was hitting back at Hussein Abdel Ghani. The former Al-Nassr star had argued that Ronaldo made little impact against Al-Ittihad, warning that the veteran cannot stay at the peak forever and should not be an automatic starter.
Al-Jaber said: "Why didn't Al-Nassr think about signing a strong striker? This is the difference when we see how Al-Hilal dealt with Benzema, whose level clearly declined, and he was thanked gracefully, and Ollie Watkins was brought in for the leaders' attack."
He added: "The entity is more important than any name or any player, because the club is what will remain, and we shouldn't keep saying that Ronaldo is staying so that he can strive to reach 1,000 goals."
Mohamed Noor objects
Mohamed Noor, the Al-Ittihad legend, took issue with Al-Jaber's argument, insisting that Ronaldo's situation and value to the Saudi league and Al-Nassr cannot be compared with Benzema's.
Noor said: "Cristiano Ronaldo, in terms of his situation and value to the league and Al-Nassr, is completely different from Benzema."
Defeat ended Al-Nassr's run of four straight wins. They stay frozen on 12 points in second, trailing leaders Al-Hilal on 15, while Al-Ittihad climbed to 11 points in fourth and kept their unbeaten record intact.
Next up, Al-Nassr host Abha on Wednesday looking to make amends, while Al-Ittihad welcome Al-Fayha on Tuesday.
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