Cristiano Ronaldo’s season is off to a less-than-ideal start with Al-Nassr, losing the Saudi Super Cup to Al-Hilal on Saturday despite scoring his side’s lone goal in an unimpressive 4-1 loss days before the Saudi Pro League campaign begins.
The Portugal international actually opened the scoring with a goal in the 44th minute but Al-Hilal responded with four goals in the second half, including two from Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrovic. Fellow Serbian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for Al-Hilal with an equalizer in the 55th minute, while Brazil’s Malcom sealed the deal with the final goal of the game in the 72nd minute.
Ronaldo appeared unimpressed with his teammates throughout the match by making a handful of gestures at them, including one in which he put his hands next to his head and pretended to fall asleep. He then left the stadium early before the medal ceremony.
The 39-year-old joined Al-Nassr in December 2022 as the first of several high-profile signings that arrived to the Saudi Pro League last year in a billion dollar strategy that also included the other goalscorers in Saturday’s Super Cup, as well as Al-Hilal’s acquisition of Neymar. Ronaldo is now the highest-paid athlete in the world, reportedly earning $75 million annually through a deal that runs until the summer of 2025.
Ronaldo has found plenty of success in Saudi Arabia from a goalscoring standpoint with 66 goals in 72 games for Al-Nassr, winning the Saudi Pro League’s top goalscorer award with 35 goals in the 2023-24 season. It has been a less successful stint from a team perspective, though — the only trophy Al-Nassr have won since Ronaldo’s arrival is the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023, though they finished second in the league in the last two seasons.
Al-Nassr begin their 2024-25 Saudi Pro League season on Thursday, when they host Al-Raed.
KVSP