Pressure on Saudi's big spenders in Asian Champions League

Saudi Arabia's spending spree in the luxury aisles of the global transfer market will be expected to pay off over the next week-and-a-half as the country's leading clubs look to turn trophy signings into title winners in the Asian Champions League Elite.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr and four-times Asian champions Al-Hilal are joined by Jeddah-based Al-Ahli in the continental quarter-finals, with the Saudi Pro League trio favoured to dominate the battle for silverware.

Huge sums have been spent since Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund bought majority holdings in the nation's leading clubs in 2023 and, after falling short in last year's competition, expectations are rising once more.

Al-Nassr have added Colombia's Jhon Duran to a roll-call that features Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte in addition to Ronaldo as the Riyadh-based outfit seek to win the Asian title for the first time.

Saudi champions Al-Hilal, meanwhile, boast the talents of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves with Al-Ahli able to field a side that includes costly acquisitions such as Ivan Toney, Riyad Mahrez and Franck Kessie.

The lavish spending required to lure such top-drawer talent ensures the trio are expected to prevail against opposition from East Asia, with the Saudi sides given the added advantage of playing the centralised finals phase on home soil.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will all be held in Jeddah, forcing their opponents to travel thousands of kilometres with their own domestic campaigns in full flow.

Al-Hilal will kick off proceedings on Friday against South Korea's debutants Gwangju, who rely heavily on the goal-scoring prowess of Albania international Jasir Asani.

Although not as well known internationally as Al-Hilal's marquee names, Asani has been in prolific form and is the tournament's top scorer with nine goals, one more than Al-Hilal's Salem Al-Dawsari and Yokohama F Marinos' Anderson Lopes.

Lopes' side will take on Al-Nassr on Saturday with last year's runners-up still reeling from the dismissal of English coach Steve Holland, who was fired last week with the five-times Japanese champions languishing in the relegation zone at home.

Also on Saturday, Thailand's Buriram United take on Al-Ahli looking to score a major upset having qualified for the last eight for the first time since 2013.

Kawasaki Frontale will feature in the fourth of the quarter-finals on Sunday when the Japanese club take on Qatar's Al-Sadd, who were most recently crowned Asian champions in 2011.