Cristiano Ronaldo is having a hard time in Saudi Arabia. He had an emotional outburst towards his bench yesterday.
At halftime of Monday’s King’s Cup semi-final loss to Al-Wehda, Ronaldo couldn’t disguise his disappointment. Al-Nassr went into the half-time interval behind 1-0 due to Jean-David Beauguel’s amazing bicycle kick which proved to be the game-winner and saw Ronaldo scream at the coaching staff as he walked off the pitch.
It was Ronaldo’s second cup exit of the season, having already been eliminated from the Saudi Super Cup in January, and his club is now three points behind league leaders Al Ittihad, despite having played one more game.
Cristiano Ronaldo fumes at his own bench as Al-Nassr go in behind at half-time 😳pic.twitter.com/gC3nzkgTzR
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 24, 2023
This time, circumstances got the better of Ronaldo, with cameras focusing on him as the players exited the field at halftime. As seen in the videos shared by Sky Sport on their Twitter account, the Portugal skipper shook his head repeatedly and then began waving and yelling at the bench upon his arrival at the touchline.
The incident was viewed as a troubling criticism for new temporary manager Dinko Jelicic. Jelicic had just lately taken over for Rudi Garcia. Some media outlets attributed Garcia’s removal to Ronaldo. Ronaldo has been openly unhappy with his new club’s lack of on-field success.
This was not Ronaldo’s first negative incident at Al Nassr. He was previously seen making an inappropriate gesture to some fans and also performed a WWE-style tackle on an opposition player in last week’s 2-0 loss to Al Hilal.
Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr
The Portuguese sensation joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in January after parting ways with Manchester United. The Saudi club offered the star footballer a contract that made him the world’s best-paid player. Cristiano had a dream start to life and scored eight goals, including two hat tricks in the Saudi Pro League, and even won the Player of the Month award for February.
CR7 has 11 goals in nine Saudi Pro League appearances with Al Nassr FC. In total, he has 11 goals in 11 games for the Riyadh-based squad.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a promising start with Al Nassr, but he has now gone three games without scoring.
Ronaldo has eight victories, two draws, and three losses in all competitions in his four months with the club. The five-time winner has some right to be upset, having scored 11 goals in his 13 games. The Portuguese forward may not receive any trophy at the end of the season.
Al Nassr will next face Al Raed in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday. Ronaldo will hope to score again and help his team win the next game.
