Cristiano Ronaldo went on strike for Al Nasr’s Saudi Pro League win against Al Riyadh on Monday, but a decision has been made regarding his availability for Friday’s match against Al Ittihad.
Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Al Nasr’s match against Al Ittihad on Friday (Image: Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to miss his second consecutive match for Al Nasr as he continues to play against Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fans (PIF).
Ronaldo, 41, missed Monday’s 1-0 win against Al Riyadh as he was unhappy with PIF, which owns Saudi Arabia’s Big Four, over the lack of progress on transfers within the club.
His anger increased after he saw title rivals Al Hilal, who sit one point above them in the Saudi Professional League, make Karim Benzema their fifth signing in the January transfer window.
Al-Nasr, on the other hand, did little in terms of recruiting during the winter market. They only made two transfers, Abdullah Al Hamdan from Al Hilal and Haidiya Abdulkarem from Al Zawra.
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Fabrizio Romano said Ronaldo has been training with his Al Nasr teammates this week, but will not be able to return for the next match against Al Ittihad on Friday night.
He added that there were no problems between Ronaldo and Al Nasr’s staff or management, and that there were no injuries or fitness issues. The Portugal international remains “outraged” by the PIF’s management of some clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Al Nasr bosses are confident Ronaldo will call off his strike ahead of the match against Al Ittihad and were shocked that the United and Real Madrid legend was left dissatisfied with the PIF.
Cristiano Ronaldo on strike (Image: Abdullah Ahmed, Getty Images)
However, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo is said to have received no concrete guarantees that PIF will make any changes regarding management and will continue his boycott until changes are made.
Negotiations are expected to continue, but Ronaldo has reportedly vowed to ask to leave the club in June if he doesn’t get the commitments he needs as he seeks to win the Saudi Professional League for the first time since joining three years ago.
Ronaldo, who has less than 18 months left on his contract, has scored 117 goals in 133 appearances for Al Nasr. The former Juventus and Sporting CP man has won 18 of his 22 games this season and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
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