The Two Finalists Are Set
The two clubs that will meet in the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) final for the 2025/26 season have been decided.
The ACL2 is the second-biggest club competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is similar to the UEFA Europa League in European football.
From the East zone, Gamba Osaka (Japan, J1 League) advanced to the final. From the West zone, Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League) claimed their spot. The two clubs will face each other on May 16.
Two Clubs From Very Different Worlds
There is a huge gap between these two clubs in terms of financial size.
Gamba Osaka’s total revenue for the 2024 season was approximately ¥7.2 billion (around $50 million / approx. €44 million). This ranked sixth in the entire J1 League — Japan’s top professional football division — and was the highest figure in the club’s history.
Al-Nassr, on the other hand, is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), a government-owned investment fund. The club’s estimated value in 2024 was around $1 billion (approx. ¥150 billion). Their reported annual player wage bill is approximately €364 million (approx. ¥60 billion / around $419 million). That is roughly 13 times Gamba Osaka’s entire annual revenue.
Al-Nassr’s squad includes global superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané, and Kingsley Coman.
Please note: Full financial details for both clubs are not always made public. The figures above are estimates based on available official reports and media sources.
Group Stage: Both Clubs Won All Six Games
In the group stage — a round-robin format where each club plays against all others in their group — both Gamba Osaka and Al-Nassr won all six of their matches. They started from the same point.
However, once the knockout rounds began — where one loss ends your tournament — the two clubs took very different paths.
Al-Nassr: Dominant and Unstoppable
Al-Nassr showed consistent, powerful football through the Round of 16, the quarterfinals, and the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals, they defeated Al-Wasl (UAE) 4–0. Ronaldo scored his first goal of the tournament, and manager Jorge Jesus’s side showed no weaknesses at all.
In the semifinals, Kingsley Coman scored a hat-trick — three goals in a single match — as Al-Nassr crushed Al-Ahli (Qatar) 5–1.
They dominated every opponent in the West zone.
Gamba Osaka: Surviving Crisis After Crisis
Gamba Osaka’s journey looked completely different. They won matches, but they were pushed to the edge again and again.
Round of 16 vs. Pohang Steelers (South Korea)
This round used a two-legged format — each club plays one home match and one away match, and the winner is decided by the total goals scored across both games. Gamba won one leg and drew the other to advance. But in the closing moments of the second leg, Pohang nearly scored a late equaliser. A VAR check — a video review by the Video Assistant Referee — ruled the goal out. Gamba survived by the narrowest of margins.
Quarterfinals
After both legs, the scores were level. The tie went to extra time — two additional 15-minute periods played when the match is still level after the standard 90 minutes. Gamba scored the winning goal in extra time to advance.
Semifinals
Gamba lost the first leg at home. But they turned it around in the away second leg, winning on aggregate — total goals over both matches — to reach the final. It was a true comeback from the edge of elimination.
Two Opposites Meet in the Final
The financial difference between these clubs is enormous. Their paths to the final have also been completely different.
Al-Nassr brought a squad of superstars and won comfortably in each round. Gamba Osaka fought through difficult moments, relying on teamwork and never giving up.
This final may be more than just a football match. It asks a deeper question about the sport: What can money buy — and what can it not?
The final takes place on May 16. A J1 League club will face the big money of Asian football head-on.
About ACL2: The AFC Champions League 2 launched in 2021 with a new format. Clubs from leagues across Asia compete through a group stage and then a knockout tournament. The highest-level club competition in Asian football is the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE). The ACL2 sits one level below that.
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