Ex-Premier League players & Cristiano Ronaldo interest: Al-Hilal profile ahead of Newcastle United game

Newcastle United take on Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal as part of their mid-season trip to Riyadh (kick-off 5pm GMT).

Eddie Howe’s side touched down in the Middle East on Sunday as they step up their preparations for the season restart in just under a fortnight’s time.

Here, NewcastleWorld profiles the Magpies’ upcoming opponents:

Saudi Arabia’s most successful football club

Al-Hilal, founded in 1957, are Saudi Arabia’s most successful football club having won a record 18 league titles. Since the Saudi Pro League’s inception in 1976, Al Hilal are among only four teams to have participated in every season.

They’ve also lifted the Crown Prince Cup - the oldest domestic football competition in the kingdom - a record 13 times and last year became the first side to win four Asia Football Confederation Champions League titles.

Beating Argentina at the World Cup (well, kind of)

In Saudi Arabia’s recent World Cup upset against Argentina, nine of the starting XI play their club football for Al-Hilal, which is the same for two of the five substitutes that day. Indeed, both goalscorers Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari are also Al-Hilal players.

Former Premier League players in their ranks

Three members of Al-Hilal’s squad have played in the Premier League. Perhaps the most well-known is Odion Ighalo, who spent three years at Watford before enjoying a one-year loan spell at Manchester United.

Matheus Pereira helped West Bromwich Albion to promotion from the Championship before joining permanently from Sporting Lisbon. The Brazilian made 33 Premier League appearances but was sold to Al-Hilal in 2021 for an undisclosed fee following the Baggies’ relegation.

Peru forward Andre Carillo also had a pretty forgetful loan at Watford in 2017-18 - scoring two goals in 30 games - before making the switch to the Middle East from Benfica.

Another player to note is former Porto striker Moussa Marega, a player who was linked with Newcastle in 2020 and tentatively in January.

An experienced manager

Al-Hilal are managed by former Argentina international Ramon Diaz. The 63-year-old, quite randomly, had a short spell in charge of Oxford United in 2004-05, as well as managing the likes of River Plate, San Lorenzo, Independiente and Paraguay.

Diaz, who represented Napoli, Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Monaco as a player, had been at Al-Hilal previously - lifting the Saudi Pro League title in 2016-17 - before being re-appointed until the end of the campaign earlier this year.

Cristiano Ronaldo interest

It’s been claimed that Al-Hilal are one of the teams interested in Cristiano Ronaldo following his controversial exit from Manchester United.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reckons rivals Al-Hilal have reached out to Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes but it is far from straightforward, with Al-Hilal unable to make new signings until the summer.

Romano explained on his YouTube channel: “There is another club that wants Cristiano Ronaldo. This club is Al Hilal. It’s true that Cristiano Ronaldo was approached by people close to Al Hilal.

“People at the club are prepared to make another important and crazy proposal. There is one interesting point though. I am told Al Hilal are not able to sign players in January. They will only be able to sign players in the summer. That’s why at the moment it is complicated.

“In January that’s why Al-Nassr are pushing and they would love to sign Ronaldo but Al Hilal also have an interest. The priority of Cristiano Ronaldo remains to have a new club as soon as possible.”

Al-Hilal’s fierce rivals Al Nassr have reportedly offer the 37-year-old a record-break £173million-a-year contract offer. Saudi Arabia’s Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal has welcomed a potential Ronaldo arrival to the Gulf state.