Cristiano Ronaldo misses match, case breaks out at'Al-Nassr

It has something of the unbelievable about what is happening in these hours between Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr’Al-Nassr. According to reports in the Portuguese newspaper ‘A Bola’, the soon-to-be 40-year-old star has reportedly voluntarily refused to take the field in Monday&#8217s league match against Al-Riyadh, as a form of protest against the ownership&#8217s management of the club and the market.

Cristiano Ronaldo (who has been playing in Al-Nassr since 2023 and has a contract with the club that runs until 2027) was in fact not on the list of summoned players and, according to the Portuguese newspaper, his absence is not related to injuries or physical problems but to the’dissatisfaction with the current management of Al-Nassr by the Public Investment Fund (the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that controls multiple clubs in the country), believing that his team is not receiving enough support in terms of reinforcements and investment compared to clubs such as Al Hilal (a team coached by Simone Inzaghi) with whom they are vying for the title of Arabia.

Stefano Picciocchi

In the last winter session, Al-Nassr brought in only young midfielder Haydeer Abdulkareem, while other clubs such as Al-Hilal made higher-profile signings, such as Pablo Marí from Fiorentina and young striker Kader Meité from Rennes, and they also seem very close to Karim Benzema (Cristiano’s friend from his Real Madrid days), who is leaving Al Ittihad after failing to reach an economic agreement on contract renewal. CR7 is reportedly concerned about the sporting direction and lack of decision-making power of the current management, with key managerial figures reportedly seeing their powers reduced.

Pending an official position from the club, the case remains open. Should it emerge that this is not simply a technical choice but a direct message from Cristiano Ronaldo to the club, the next few hours will be crucial to see if the situation can be recomposed or if the relationship between the Portuguese and Al-Nassr is indeed at risk of breaking down.