Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to ‘boycott’ Al Nassr and will ‘refuse to play’ in their next game.
Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time, but he is also a renowned man-child and has spat his dummy out on several occasions in recent years.
The Man Utd legend responded poorly to falling in the pecking order under Erik ten Hag in his final few months at Old Trafford, with the former head coach rightly preferring to select younger stars who offered more.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was a bit-part player before his infamous interview with Piers Morgan (in which he hit out at Ten Hag, the Glazer family and United legends) contributed to the decision to terminate his contract by mutual consent at the end of 2022.
This opened the door for the 40-year-old to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr at the start of 2023. He has 111 goals and 22 assists in his 127 appearances for the Middle East outfit, but it has not all been sunshine and rainbows for the veteran at his current club.
Last year, Ronaldo reportedly considered leaving Al Nassr so he could join a club competing at the Club World Cup, with it noted that he was unhappy at his side’s failure to win the Saudi Pro League or the AFC Champions League.
Ronaldo eventually decided to remain at Al Nassr and extended his contract until 2027, but there has reportedly been fresh conflict at the club.
Al Nassr are scheduled to face Al-Riyadh on Monday afternoon in the Saudi Pro League, while they will come up against Al-Ittihad on Friday.
However, they could be without Ronaldo for these games as a report from Portuguese outlet A Bola claims he is currently ‘refusing to play for Al Nassr.
Ronaldo is reportedly ‘unhappy’ and has decided to ‘boycott’ as he is ‘dissatisfied’ with the management at Al Nassr compared to other clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
The report explains:
According to information obtained by our newspaper from a source at Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo is unhappy with the way the PIF (Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia) is managing the club he has represented for three years, especially compared to the treatment given to rival clubs, also managed by the same fund.
‘Team captain Cristiano Ronaldo complains about the lack of investment at Al Nassr. Jorge Jesus has not received the requested reinforcements, and proof of this is that the only player signed in this winter transfer window was Haydeer Abdulkareem, a 21-year-old midfielder recruited from Iraq.’
