Cristiano Ronaldo’s season has gotten off to a less than ideal start at Al-Nassr. On Saturday he lost the Saudi Super Cup to Al-Hilal, despite scoring his side’s only goal in an unimpressive 4-1 loss before the Saudi Pro League campaign began. .
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 Serbian Aleksandar Mitrovic. Fellow Serb 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 match in the 72nd minute.
Ronaldo seemed unfazed by his teammates throughout the match, making a handful of gestures at them, including one where he put his hands next to his head and pretended to fall asleep. He then left the stadium early for the medal ceremony.
The 39-year-old joined Al-Nassr in December 2022 as the first of a number of high-profile signings to arrive in the Saudi Pro League last year in a multibillion-dollar strategy that also involved the other goalscorers from Saturday’s Super Cup. The acquisition of Neymar by Al-Hilal. Ronaldo is now the highest-paid athlete in the world, reportedly earning $75 million a year on a deal that runs until the summer of 2025.
Ronaldo has enjoyed great success in Saudi Arabia from a goalscoring point of view with 66 goals in 72 appearances for Al-Nassr, winning the Saudi Pro League top scorer award with 35 goals in the 2023/24 season. From a team perspective, however, it has been a less successful period: the only trophy Al-Nassr has won since Ronaldo’s arrival is the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023, although they have finished second in the league in the past two seasons.
Al-Nassr starts the 2024-2025 season in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday, hosting Al-Raed.
