Benzema, Blanc, Al Dawsari, Ronaldo honoured with SPL Awards | OneFootball

Roshn Saudi League champions Al Ittihad led the way at the inaugural Saudi Pro League Season Awards on Wednesday as captain Karim Benzema was named Player of the Season and manager Laurent Blanc collected the accolade for Best Coach.

The Al Ittihad pair were pivotal to the Jeddah club’s top-flight success, as the 2022-23 title-winners reclaimed the trophy with three rounds to spare. Al Ittihad then rounded off an unforgettable 2024-25 RSL campaign on Monday with a spectacular trophy ceremony at Alinma Stadium.

The 1-0 victory against Damac on the night ensured Al Ittihad concluded the season eight points clear of second-placed Al Hilal, last term's champions.

Benzema was no doubt Al Ittihad’s main man on the pitch throughout the 2024-25 RSL, with the Ballon d’Or winner scoring 21 goals and recording nine assists.

Benzema's 30 goal contributions represented the joint-highest in the division, alongside Al Hilal counterpart Salem Al Dawsari, who on Wednesday picked up the award for Best Saudi Player.

For Blanc, guiding Al Ittihad to the RSL title in his debut season in the Kingdom underlined a coaching acumen that has previously won four Ligue 1 trophies as a manager in his native France.

In adding a championship crown in Saudi, the Frenchman becomes the ninth coach to do so in his opening campaign. It also marked his first top-flight title outside of France.

Other winners in the end-of-season awards included Al Dawsari, the Al Hilal captain who matched Benzema’s 30 goal contributions, although with an even split of 15 goals and 15 assists.

The Saudi Arabia skipper topped the league in the latter category having earlier in the season become the competition's all-time leader for assists.

The Best Young Player award went to Musab Al Juwayr, the hugely exciting Saudi talent who spent the majority of this season on loan at Al Shabab from Al Hilal.

With nine assists and four goals - part of the reason Al Juwayr collected seven successive Young Player of the Month awards - the 21-year-old midfielder demonstrated why he is so highly rated.

Meanwhile, for the second season running, Cristiano Ronaldo finished as the RSL’s top scorer. The Al Nassr captain, who captured the golden boot last term in record-breaking fashion, stood at the summit once more, with his 25 goals two ahead of closest challenger, Ivan Toney of Al Ahli.

The Portuguese legend, whose side finished third, has now netted 74 times in 77 RSL appearances for Al Nassr to sit ninth in the competition's all-time goalscorer standings.

Also, the 2024-25 Golden Gloves award went to Al Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels following an excellent season for both the player and his club.

Promoted last season, Al Qadsiah finished fourth in the table, thanks in no small part to a dependable defence that helped Belgium No.1 Casteels, experiencing his debut campaign in the RSL, keep a league-leading 14 clean sheets.