Sadio Mane: New-look Al Nassr 'dreaming big this season' | OneFootball

On Sunday, when Sadio Mane scans the Al Nassr dressing room as they prepare to tackle their opening home match of the new Roshn Saudi League season, he will sense the increased expectation.

Heightened optimism, also. After a summer of significant investment, his always-ambitious club are clearly targeting even loftier goals.

“It’s normal to dream big because Al Nassr is one of the best teams in the league,” Mane tells the Saudi Pro League. “The title, we know [that it’s a target], so we don’t need to talk about it.

“And, of course, having new players like Kingsley [Coman] and Joao [Felix], which is a dream for us to get them because we need them and we are really happy to have them.

“For sure, the fans and the club expect a lot, but I have no doubt about it that they will deliver for us. It’s going to be a really exciting season for all of us. We can’t wait to achieve the best things that we want.”

Mane, and Al Nassr fans, have already been provided strong evidence of the fresh additions’ capabilities. In Matchweek 1, Felix hit a hat-trick and Coman found the net in the 5-0 victory at Al Taawoun, while fellow recent recruit Inigo Martinez was instrumental in the team’s clean sheet.

All three, having arrived in the past few months from Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively, were making their RSL debuts.

And, of course, there was the ever-reliable Cristiano Ronaldo, who completed the scoring in Buraidah. The Al Nassr captain, it's worth noting, is chasing not only a first RSL crown, but a third successive golden boot.

What’s more, Al Nassr’s quest for success this campaign is overseen by Jorge Jesus, already a title-winner in the Kingdom. When the Portuguese tactician scaled the mountain - two seasons ago and in record-breaking fashion - he was deservedly named Manager of the Season.

Given Jesus’ immutable character, you'd imagine the move across the capital from arch-rivals Al Hilal will fuel his fire even more.

“From far away, you can see how he is,” Mane says. “He’s someone who has a winning mentality; he demands a lot from his players, which is completely normal. And he’s pushing, pushing, pushing everybody until his limits.

“He’s a great manager; you can see he’s really, really good. And, yeah, it’ll be an exciting season.”

An exacting one, also. For instance, on Sunday, Al Nassr host Al Kholood at Al Awwal Park, the team who last term finished ninth in their very first season in the RSL (Al Nassr came home third).

Like Al Nassr, the Ar Rass side have invested heavily ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. In fact, like almost all clubs have done.

“This is my third season, and I feel like every season is getting tougher and tougher, which is really important and really good for the league,” Mane says.

“First of all, the players are improving and, of course, it’s getting more professional. And each of the teams are adding a lot of quality as well, which is necessary. So you can expect only a really strong and competitive league."

Fortunately, then, for both Mane and Al Nassr, a terrific transfer window suggests they are well set to thrive - in potentially the most closely fought RSL in recent memory.