Cristiano Ronaldo is unhappy with PIF over Al Nasr’s lack of transfer activity and will ask to leave the Saudi club if he does not get the commitments he needs
Cristiano Ronaldo seeks guarantees for investments by Al Nasr and PIF
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to miss Al Nasr’s matches, but it is claimed he could leave the club if he does not receive commitments regarding his future activities.
The Portuguese star refused to play in Al Nasr’s game against Al Riyadh on Monday, citing frustration with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) over the club’s lack of transfer activity.
His anger came to a head after title rivals Al Hilal, who lead the table by one point, made Karim Benzema their fifth signing, further strengthening their standing with the former Ballon d’Or winner. Al-Nasr, on the other hand, did little in terms of recruitment.
According to a report by ESPN, Ronaldo announced his intention to boycott the second consecutive league match as he did not receive concrete guarantees from the PIF that there would be a change in management.
Talks continue, but Ronaldo is reportedly aiming to win his first league title since his trip to the Middle East and has made it clear that he will ask to leave the club in June if he does not get the commitments he needs.
read more: Karim Benzema rubs salt into Cristiano Ronaldo’s wounds with Real Madrid comments after transferread more: Lionel Messi is in talks about mentally returning to his boyhood club to realize his dreams
Despite scoring regularly, Ronaldo was unable to lead Al Nasr to success in the league and was frustrated by PIF’s lack of investment in the team. Al Nasr is one of several teams owned by PIF, but Al Hilal is not affiliated with that club.
Ronaldo counts Sadio Mane, Joao Félix and Kingsley Coman as team-mates, but wants Al Nasr to remain competitive with his rivals. In addition to Benzema, Al Hilal also acquired striker Mohamed Meite from Rennes, former Arsenal defender Pablo Mari, and two Saudi internationals, Murad Al Hawsawi and Sultan Mandash.
Karim Benzema’s recent moves have sparked Cristiano Ronaldo’s frustration (Image: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, Ronaldo posted a photo of himself training on his social media. Club officials are surprised he is unhappy despite reportedly earning £500,000 a day and hope he plays in Friday’s game against Al Ittihad. If they win, they will rise to the top.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who turns 41 on Thursday, has 18 months left on his contract but has a release clause of £43m (about €50m) in the summer.
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