Trouble in Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo apparently refuses to play for the club
02/02/2026 – 09:53 amReading time: 2 minutes
Cristiano Ronaldo feels so comfortable in Saudi Arabia that he extended his contract in the summer. But now there is trouble.
In December 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo experienced a series of disappointments: he only played a minor role at his then club Manchester United, and with Portugal he also failed in the quarter-finals of the World Cup – as a substitute. Completely surprisingly, the superstar decided to move to Saudi Arabia. Since then, he has not only earned a lot of money at Al-Nassr, but has also found happiness again. But now there is apparently dissatisfaction at CR7.
The Portuguese sports newspaper “A Bola” reports that Cristiano Ronaldo refused to play in the league game against Al-Riyadh on Monday. Contrary to what the Saudi media reported, there are no health reasons behind this. Accordingly, CR7 is dissatisfied with the way the Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) manages Al-Nassr.
In addition to Al-Nassr, PIF also manages the top national clubs Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad. “A Bola” reports that Cristiano Ronaldo feels disadvantaged, especially compared to the competition. The superstar is annoyed by a lack of investment at his club.
In fact, Al-Nassr only made one transfer in the winter with the signing of 21-year-old Iraqi Haydeer Abdulkareem. Al-Hilal, on the other hand, has already invested 30 million euros in new signings during this transfer period, according to “transfermarkt.de”, Al-Ahli ten million euros. The truth is that Cristiano Ronaldo’s club made a lot of investments in the summer: Kingsley Coman came from FC Bayern for 25 million euros, and Mohamed Simakan, who had previously been on loan from RB Leipzig, was signed for 35 million euros. And João Félix cost 30 million euros. In total, the club invested over 100 million euros in new players in the summer.
Cristiano Ronaldo is not the first to express his dissatisfaction with the national situation. His coach, Jorge Jesus, also recently complained. Al-Nassr “doesn’t have the political power like Al-Hilal,” the Portuguese said angrily at a press conference. However, CR7’s protest is unlikely to be more than a public signal: the superstar only extended his contract until 2027 in the summer.
