Saudi Arabia has turned its back on Cristiano Ronaldo (40, Al Nassr) due to his unprofessional attitude.
Al Nassr drew 1-1 against Al Taawon in the 32nd round of the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League held in Riyadh on the 17th. With 64 points, Al Nassr has dropped to 4th place, trailing 3rd place Al Qubah, which has 65 points.
This is an emergency situation. With two league matches remaining, Al Nassr's qualification for the Asian Champions League elite, granted to the top 3, is uncertain.
In a dire crisis, Ronaldo missed two consecutive matches due to flu-like symptoms. There are growing suspicions in Saudi Arabia that Ronaldo is missing the most important matches for questionable reasons.
After the match, even Coach Pioli publicly expressed disappointment over Ronaldo's absence. He remarked, 'We missed too many opportunities. Ronaldo's absence due to the flu impacted the entire team.'
Since signing Ronaldo, Al Nassr has remained trophyless. The impact of Ronaldo, who was confident about conquering Asia, has been less than expected.
According to Portuguese media, Ronaldo is preparing to leave his life in Saudi Arabia and return to his hometown team, Sporting. This means Ronaldo would choose romance over the world’s highest salary. Al Nassr is also likely to abandon plans for a contract renewal due to disappointment with Ronaldo's attitude.
Initially, Al Nassr prepared to renew Ronaldo's contract for 2 years for over 500 million euros (781.7 billion won).
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