Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut season in Saudi Arabia is unlikely to culminate with a league title as Al-Nassr dropped points yet again in their pursuit of Al-Ittihad. The 38-year-old endured another 90 minutes of frustration as Al-Nassr squandered points in the title chase – and one opposition staff member suffered the weight of it.

In the Saudi Pro League, Cristiano Ronaldo’s team was held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Khaleej, leaving them two points behind leaders Al-Ittihad. However, with only four games remaining, the gap is poised to widen to five points as the league leaders surged into a 3-0 half-time lead against Abha.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo endured another frustrating night as Al Nassr slipped further behind in the title race. Credits: Twitter

Cristiano Ronaldo snubs Al-Kaleej coach for selfie as title frustration starts showing

To make matters worse, Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score, leaving him with the threat of finishing his debut season in Saudi Arabia empty-handed. And when he was accosted as he stormed towards the tunnel at full speed, he wasn’t about to lighten his attitude.

In an odd turn of events, the 38-year-old was requested to take for a selfie with the Al-Kaleej employee, who was more concerned with ‘CR7’ than he did with celebrating the triumph. The timing of the request was questionable, to say the least, with Ronaldo pushing off the man and refusing to stop.

It’s another tense moment in what is turning out to be a tumultuous season for Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed a £172 million-a-year contract to play in the country after departing Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances. Indeed, despite having a contract until the end of 2025, there is widespread suspicion that international football’s all-time leading scorer is contemplating his retirement.

Last month, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was accused of being petulant after being rejected a penalty in a 4-0 win over Al-Raed. He reacted by throwing his arms up in disgust and yelling at the referee, expressing more dissatisfaction after the VAR check failed to alter the judgement.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Real Madrid, where he won four Champions League titles in nine years. However, President Florentino Perez has moved to deny rumours, citing the club icon’s age. In another rumour, if Ronaldo remains in Saudi Arabia, he may face off against his adversary Lionel Messi once more.

After falling foul of PSG executives for flying to Saudi without permission last week, the Argentine World Cup winner is reportedly discussing a move to Al-Hilal. Messi, who recently won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for a second time, has made up his mind to leave PSG at the end of the season when his contract expires, and is already weighing up his options.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 12 goals for his new club since his lucrative move, will return to play against Al-Ta’ee on Tuesday. Any slip-ups would effectively ruin his team’s title bid, leaving Ronaldo without a trophy since winning the Coppa Italia with Juventus in the 2020-21 season.