Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is not expected to feature in Al Nasr’s match against Al Riyadh on Monday as he is unhappy with the club’s lack of transfer activity.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in Al Nasr’s next game against Al Riyadh (Image: Yasser Baksh)
Cristiano Ronaldo will refuse to play for Al Nasr in their next match at Al Riyadh, citing dissatisfaction with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) over the club’s lack of transfer activity.
Ronaldo, 40, has been a marquee player in the Saudi Pro League since joining Al Nasr in December 2022 following the end of his second spell at Manchester United. Other big names followed him to the Middle East, but everything seems to have gone awry after the Portuguese star refused to play in Al Nasr’s next match on Monday.
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Ronaldo is unhappy with PIF over his transfer activity compared to rivals such as Al Hilal, who are close to signing Karim Benzema.
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And the former Real Madrid superstar intends to prove his point by effectively striking out in Al Nasr’s next game.
It is also understood that another point of contention for Ronaldo is the fact that the club’s sporting director Simao Coutinho and chief executive Jose Semedo had their powers reduced after a board meeting last month.
Ronaldo is unhappy with the club’s lack of transfer activity (Image: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
Al Nasr’s head coach Jorge Jesus could only add young midfielder Heidia Abdulkarem to his team. He recently hinted that the club’s finances were “not in good shape” following scrutiny over its transfer activities.
“I have spoken of the winter season,” Jesus said. “We don’t have space for foreign players. And Al Nasr’s financial situation is not good and we can’t allow that. We hope that one or two, maybe three players will join us.”
Ronaldo signed a two-year contract extension with Al Nasr last June, meaning he is committed to the club until the summer of 2027.
The Portugal captain has scored more than 100 goals since joining the club following a bitter exit from Old Trafford, but has not been able to lead Al Nasr to a 10th domestic title.
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