Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly deepens Al Nassr crisis with daring move after Saudi Pro League absence
Cristiano Ronaldo has managed to remain one of the top players in the Saudi Pro League, maintaining an impressive scoring pace. However, the veteran’s future at Al Nassr remains highly uncertain, as the club’s lack of reinforcements has reportedly caused frustration for the Portuguese star, leading to his absence from the previous match. Instead of easing tensions, the 40-year-old star has made a surprising decision that makes his intentions clear.
According to journalist Abdul Aziz Al-Tamimi via X (formerly Twitter), Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from today’s training session at Al Nassr as coach Jorge Jesus scheduled the workout for players who did not feature in the match against Al Riyadh SC. With this, the Portuguese star continues to strain relations with the club, making his frustration over the lack of investment to strengthen the squad clear.
Although Al Nassr have managed to remain among the most competitive teams in the Saudi Pro League, they have had serious problems within the roster this season. Despite this, Wesley Gassova and Haroune Camara have left the team, clearly weakening the offense. In response to this, Hayder Abdulkareem and Abdullah Al-Hamdan arrived, but it does not seem to have been enough for Cristiano Ronaldo, who believes that the team has not improved enough.
Unlike Ronaldo’s team, Al Hilal have managed to create a fully competitive roster, signing three top-level players in this transfer market: Mohamed Meïté, Saïmon Nadélia Bouabré, and even Karim Benzema. In addition, they have retained Theo Hernandez and Sergej Milinković-Savić, among others, making them the most complete team in the league and leaving Al Nassr behind, who have failed to win the Saudi Pro League since the Portuguese player’s arrival.
Aware of his influence, Cristiano Ronaldo is pressuring Al Nassr’s management and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), showing his clear frustration. Although he has stayed in top form since joining the Saudi Pro League, he considers any season without a league title a failure due to his competitive drive. Recognizing that the current roster might fail again, the Portuguese star is pushing for immediate changes within PIF.
Ex-Premier League star delivers blunt criticism of Ronaldo’s attitude
Cristiano Ronaldo’s stance toward the PIF and Al Nassr has been praised by several fans, who view him as the only player capable of influencing a change in the direction the club is taking, after struggling to reinforce the squad with top-level players. However, it has not all been praise, as a former Premier League star has decided to issue a strong criticism of the Portuguese player’s attitude.
“Maybe Ronaldo could give some of his earnings to the club to then help them get more players. I’ve never heard of something so ridiculous in all my life, self-indulgent nonsense… It is absolutely bizarre when you consider the earning capacity of Cristiano and Benzema. For either of them to be disillusioned, upset about the way their clubs are run, to put it mildly, is almost unthinkable,” Danny Murphy said, via talkSPORT.