Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal have secured places in the next AFC Champions League Elite season after their positions in the Saudi Pro League left the rest of the field unable to catch them. Al-Nassr leads the table with a clear margin over Al-Hilal in second, and both clubs are now mathematically out of reach of the chasing pack.
For Al-Nassr, the qualification restores the club to the continent’s top tier after a detour through the AFC Champions League Two. It played in the inaugural AFC Champions League Elite during the 2024-25 campaign, then finished third in the league the following year and slipped into the second-tier competition before advancing into the knockout rounds. That swing shows how sharply the Saudi Pro League has reshaped continental qualification, even for a squad built around Cristiano Ronaldo.
Al-Hilal’s route has been different but no less revealing. The club recently took on Al-Sadd in a Round of 16 match in the AFC Champions League Elite, a tie that went to a penalty shootout. The result underlined that league strength and continental certainty do not always move in step, even for one of Asia’s most established sides.
The wider picture is a Saudi league that now influences who gets the region’s biggest stage, and when. Karim Benzema’s attacking contributions have been part of Al-Hilal’s strong performances, according to the report, while Pablo Mari is cited as a voice from inside Benzema’s dressing room. Together, those names sit at the center of Asian soccer’s shifting power balance, where domestic standings now carry continental weight well beyond the usual race for a title.
What comes next is straightforward for both clubs: the rest of the Saudi Pro League schedule will decide the final order, but not their place in next season’s AFC Champions League Elite. Al-Nassr can now build from the top, while Al-Hilal enters the run-in knowing its path back to the tournament has already been secured.
