Tokyo: Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping to add an Asian Champions League crown to his long list of achievements when the continent’s top club competition kicks off on Monday. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker saw his first attempt with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr end in the quarter-finals. Al Nassr and other teams from Saudi Arabia, now renamed the Asian Elite of the Champions League, will be the main threat after spending huge sums of money on the likes of Ronaldo and Neymar over the past two years. England striker Ivan Toney was the latest big name to swap Europe for Saudi Arabia when he left Brentford for Al Ahli last month for more than $45 million. As part of the overhaul of the competition, Saudi Arabia – which is due to host the World Cup in 2034 – will host a mini-elimination tournament in the final stages to decide the overall winner. Champions take home at least $12 million. Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Neymar’s Al Hilal will all take part in Monday’s elite Champions League opener with the new format splitting the 24 teams evenly into two groups, East and West. The top eight teams from each zone will then advance to the knockout round of 16, which will be played over two legs in March before the action moves from the quarter-finals to Saudi Arabia. Saudi champions Al Hilal are aiming for a record fifth Asian title but are still awaiting the return of Brazil ace Neymar, who was sidelined last year with a serious knee injury. Al Hilal have signed Portuguese full-back Joao Cancelo from Manchester City, bolstering a squad that already featured Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves. Al Nassr finished a distant second to Al Hilal in last season’s Saudi Pro League but, like Ronaldo, they can use Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte and Marcel Brozovic. Ronaldo, 39, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and multiple European Champions League winner, recently scored the 900th goal of his career when he netted Portugal. For all the Saudi star power, the defending champions hail from the United Arab Emirates. Al Ain beat Al Nassr on penalties in the round of 16 and Argentine great Hernan Crespo led them to victory in the final against Japan’s Yokohama F-Marinos over two legs. Al Ain is one of two UAE clubs taking part in this year’s edition, with teams from Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan and Iraq completing the West Zone line-up. In the east, clubs from Japan have had their best results in recent years and Yokohama return to the Champions League to meet their challenge. Manager Harry Kewell has been sacked since leading them to last season’s final, with the former Liverpool and Leeds forward paying the price for his side’s lackluster home form. Kawasaki Frontale and Vissel Kobe will also represent Japan, while three-time champions Pohang Steelers, two-time winners Ulsan and debutant Gwangju will fly the flag for South Korea. The spending power of Chinese clubs has long since dried up, but former Chelsea striker Oscar is still on the books of Shanghai Port, managed by Australian coach Kevin Muscat. Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua are also involved from China, while one club each from Australia, Thailand and Malaysia is in the Eastern League stage. The East and West zones have alternated for the premier Asian club title for the past six seasons, but the Eastern teams dominated for more than a decade before that.
