Friday 06/February/2026 – 02:05 PM
Saudi press reports confirmed the absence of Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Nasr star in the match against Al-Ittihad, scheduled for this Friday evening, within the Saudi League competitions.
Al-Nasr’s attempts to participate with Ronaldo in front of Al-Ittihad failed
The Saudi Al-Riyadiah newspaper said that all attempts by Al-Nasr officials to have Ronaldo participate in the Al-Ittihad match failed, in light of the continued state of anger that the player is experiencing towards the club’s owners, against the backdrop of not concluding deals during the winter transfer period.
Al-Nasr officials have made attempts in the past hours to persuade Ronaldo to play against Al-Ittihad Jeddah, after his recent strike from participating in the team’s matches and training.
The newspaper added that Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, Al-Nasr coach, decided to stand in solidarity with his compatriot Ronaldo, as he is considering not appearing in the press conference after the match in protest against the club’s contractual policy.
Jesus had missed the press conference for the Riyadh match in the last round, and he also refused to hold a press conference before the Al-Ittihad match yesterday, Wednesday.
It is noteworthy that Jesus did not officially announce Al-Nasr’s list to face Al-Ittihad, amid confirmations from the Saudi media that Cristiano Ronaldo was excluded from the match.
Ronaldo was absent from his team’s last match against Riyadh, as media reports indicated that the player was experiencing a state of dissatisfaction due to the club’s failure to conclude strong deals during the recent winter transfers, while Al Hilal, the traditional rival, concluded important deals, most notably attracting the Frenchmen Karim Benzema, Simon Bouabry, and Kader Meite.
