Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly endured an emotional night despite Al-Nassr completing one of the most remarkable comebacks of their season, with Saudi Arabian media personality Khalid Al-Shanif claiming the Portugal star was “crying intensely” after the 3-2 victory over Al-Ettifaq.The 41-year-old made his first start of the season on Tuesday, but was replaced by Abdullah Al-Khaibari at half-time after Al-Nassr had fallen 2-0 behind and been reduced to 10 men. Al-Shanif has since offered his account of what happened behind the scenes, while manager Ange Postecoglou gave a somewhat different explanation of the substitution, saying Ronaldo was always scheduled to play only the opening 45 minutes.
What happened with Ronaldo at half-time?
Al-Nassr’s night had started badly when goalkeeper Bento was sent off in the 12th minute after bringing down Moussa Dembélé, forcing the team to play almost the entire match with 10 men.Al-Ettifaq then took advantage of the numerical advantage, with Ondrej Duda putting the hosts ahead in the 31st minute before Álvaro Medrán doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time.Ronaldo, who had only recently returned to competitive action after an extended break following the 2026 World Cup and his marriage to Georgina Rodríguez, was subsequently replaced at the interval, with Al-Khaibari coming on as Al-Nassr looked to strengthen the team after going down to 10 men.According to Saudi Arabian sports journalist and television presenter Al-Shanif, who discussed the situation on his programme Doreena Ghair, the decision was actually initiated by Ronaldo himself.“Cristiano Ronaldo was the one who requested to be substituted against Al-Ettifaq because he wasn’t ready and wanted a ready player in his place. Cristiano Ronaldo was crying intensely after Al-Nassr’s victory against Al-Ettifaq.”Reports and footage from the match also fuelled speculation that Ronaldo was angry with the decision. The Al-Nassr captain was visibly irritated as he removed the armband from his arm and walked off the pitch.
Postecoglou says Ronaldo was always meant to play 45 minutes
Speaking after the match, Postecoglou explained that Ronaldo’s limited involvement was linked to his fitness rather than a reaction to his performance.“Look, again, with Cristiano, he is a unique sportsman. He has not had much preparation, and the plan was always for him to play 45 minutes against Al Ettifaq. He played 30 minutes in the first game, so we wanted him to play 45 against Al Ettifaq and build up gradually.”The manager added that Ronaldo had wanted to remain on the pitch after Al-Nassr fell two goals behind.“That was always going to happen at half time, but because of the situation, with the team losing 2-0, Cristiano wanted to help and wanted to keep playing. For me, though, those 45 minutes were good because now we know that he is ready to play more than 45 minutes. I know he feels physically in good condition now, so he is ready for tomorrow’s game.”
Ronaldo cheers Al-Nassr’s comeback from the sidelines
Whatever the circumstances surrounding the substitution, Ronaldo watched from the sidelines as his team produced a stunning turnaround — and footage from the second half showed him loudly and proudly cheering his teammates on.Al-Nassr came out for the second half two goals down and a man short, but they gradually turned the game around. Sadio Mané pulled one back in the 74th minute after João Félix threaded a pass through to him, giving the visitors a route back into the match.Only three minutes later, Félix provided the delivery again, this time from a corner, and Abdulelah Al-Amri headed Al-Nassr level.With the match seemingly heading towards a draw, Al-Nassr found one final opening in the 90th minute. Sami Al-Najei drove the counter-attack forward before finding Mané, who finished from inside the box to complete his brace and send Al-Nassr from 2-0 down to a 3-2 victory.The celebrations continued inside the dressing room, where visuals showed Ronaldo embracing his teammates after the dramatic turnaround. Despite being unable to influence the result on the pitch, he appeared fully invested in the victory, sharing the emotional scenes with the squad after the final whistle.The result leaves Al-Nassr with a perfect nine points from their opening three Saudi Pro League matches.
Ronaldo’s return is still being managed
Ronaldo missed Al-Nassr’s opening two league matches against Al-Fateh and Al-Diriyah while taking an extended break following Portugal’s World Cup campaign and his wedding to Rodríguez.He returned as a substitute against Al-Riyadh and scored before making his first start of the season against Al-Ettifaq.Postecoglou’s comments suggest Al-Nassr are still carefully managing his workload, although the manager believes Ronaldo is now ready to play beyond the 45-minute mark.Al-Nassr will next face Al-Taawoun as they look to maintain their perfect start to the Saudi Pro League season.
