Cristiano Ronaldo’s self-imposed exile from the Al-Nassr squad has extended into a second game
The saga has dominated the narrative around the Saudi Pro League since Monday: Cristiano Ronaldo seemingly going on strike to show his dissatisfaction at Al-Nassr’s management.
To summarise, Ronaldo is unhappy at what he perceives as a lack of investment in Al-Nassr while title rivals Al-Hilal – who are also part-owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) – were this week allowed to sign striker Karim Benzema.
The purchase of former Ballon d’Or winner Benzema was funded by Al-Hilal’s ‘Golden Member’ Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, who owns 75% of the club and is eager to purchase PIF’s 25%.
Nevertheless, Ronaldo is still furious that Al-Nassr, who sit a point behind table-topping Al-Hilal, were heavily restricted in their January dealings.
The Portugal superstar missed Monday’s 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh and is absent again today.
Table of Contents
Al-Nassr Team News
Jorge Jesus makes four changes to the side that won on Monday.
In come Abdulelah Al Amri, Marcelo Brozovic, Abdullah Al Khaibari and Kingsley Coman.
Al-Nassr: Bento; Al Ghannam, Simakan, Martinez, Al Amri; Angelo, Al Khaibari, Brozovic, Coman; Mane, Felix
Subs: Nawaf, Nader, Boushal, Salem, Yahya, Alhassan, Ghareeb, Alhamdan, Marran
Al-Ittihad Team News
It wasn’t just Benzema that departed Al-Ittihad this week with midfielder N’Golo Kante moving to Fenerbahce and striker Youssef En-Nesyri coming the other way. En-Nesyri is thrust straight in to make his debut.
Al-Ittihad: Rajkovic; Mitaj, M Al Shanqiti, Pereira, Kadish; Diaby, Aouar, Fabinho, Al Julaydan, Doumbia; En-Nesyri
Subs: Fallatah, Al Ghamdi, Al Absi, Al Bishi, Haji, Al Nashri, Barnawi, H Al Shanqiti, Al Ghamdi
How to watch Al-Nassr v Al-Ittihad: TV and online streams
Al-Nassr versus Al-Ittihad kicks off at 5.30pm UK time tomorrow night. It is not available to watch on UK TV but can be streamed on the official Pro League channel on YouTube.
Stats for Al-Nassr v Al-Ittihad
- None of the last nine meetings between the sides have ended in a draw
- Al-Nassr won the league fixture earlier in the season, 2-0
Benzema vs Ronaldo
Benzema has 11 goals in 15 league appearances this season – one behind Al-Hilal top scorer Marcos Leonardo – and 16 goals in 21 games overall.
Ronaldo has 17 goals in 18 league matches and 18 goals in 22 games in all competitions. Ivan Toney’s 19 goals for Al-Ahli make the former England striker the leading marksman in the Saudi Pro League 2025/26.
Benzema registered his first assist this season on his Al-Hilal bow and provided nine in 2024/25, all in the league. One of Ronaldo’s three assists in 2025/26 has been in the league, with three of his four assists last season coming in the division.
Cristiano Ronaldo contract
Ronaldo is yet to win the Saudi title despite top-scoring in the top flight in each of his two full seasons with Al-Nassr, who have potentially colosssal financial might through the country’s Public Investment Fund.
Shortly after Al-Nassr finished third last season – 13 points behind Al-Ittihad – Ronaldo appeared to strongly hint on social media that he had played his final game for the club.
He agreed a new contract exactly a month later, having scored in Portugal’s triumphant Nations League semi-final against Germany and final against Spain.
The five-time Champions League winner scored 35 goals in 41 matches across all competitions for Al-Nassr in 2024/25.
Cristiano Ronaldo salary, wages
On financial website Forbes’ all-time list of the highest earning athletes in a year, only boxer Floyd Mayweather eclipses Ronaldo, having pocketed an estimated $300 million (£226m) in 2015 and $285m (£214.5m) in 2018.
Ronaldo was said to have surpassed $1 billion (£771m) in career earnings two years before becoming the most high-profile footballer to move to Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo’s first Al-Nassr deal was widely reported to be worth £14.75m a month or £3.4m per week. His annual salary was said to be £177m per year, made up of £62m for his football salary, supplemented by commercial bonuses.
Ronaldo has a variety of lucrative sponsorship deals, with his recent endorsements including Whoop, video game UFL and cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
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