Cristiano Ronaldo Flops for Al Nassr After Erik ten Hag Takedown, Portugal Ban

A frustrating period for Cristiano Ronaldo continued as he failed to hit the target with a penalty and missed an open goal during Al Nassr’s 1–0 win over Neom in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old was handed a spot kick right on the stroke of halftime after teammate João Felix was brought down inside the box. Ronaldo, however lashed his penalty wide—missing the chance to edge closer to his much-publicized career target of 1,000 goals.

Things got worse for Ronaldo later on as he managed to volley Sadio Mané’s teed-up ball skywards from just a couple of yards out with the goal gaping. That chance was given an xG rating of 0.83, while the five-time Ballon d’Or winner finished the match without a single shot on target from six taken.

Al Nassr, who sit third in the Saudi Pro League standings after nine games, still won the match thanks to a second-half strike from Felix.

Stats Snapshot: Ronaldo vs. Neom

*Statistics courtesy of FotMob

Portugal Drama

Ronaldo’s disappointing evening with Al Nassr follows a difficult week for the superstar striker.

The Pro League outing was Ronaldo’s first appearance since the news of his provisional suspension by Portugal after leaving the team over a dispute with manager Jorge Jesus during the last international break.

On Monday, the Portuguese FA hit Ronaldo with a fine of just €255 ($286) and a 30-day suspension—backdated so Ronaldo can re-join the team camp for the upcoming Nations League matches in November.

The light punishment suggests there are plans to quickly reintegrate Ronaldo into the Portugal setup and smooth over relations between player and manager, but doubts remain over who is calling the shots with the national team.

Ronaldo storming out of the Portugal setup and the subsequent fallout marked contrast to his great rival Lionel Messi’s tearful final Argentina match. The 39-year-old was given a heartfelt sendoff in his 208th and final game for his country as the Ronaldo drama unfolded half the world away.

Ronaldo is highly likely to still achieve his target of 1,000 goals, but his short-term Portugal future remains unclear, with successive managers grappling with how to manage the aging superstar.

‘He Let Me Down’—Ten Hag Puts Ronaldo on Blast

Meanwhile, former Man United boss Erik ten Hag hit out at Ronaldo’s attitude in an explosive interview with The Athletic.

The Dutchman, who was in charge when Ronaldo sensationally left United in acrimony at the back end of 2022, claimed the forward did not want to train at the level required and encouraged his teammates to go easy during the manager’s sessions.

“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” Ten Hag said. “Obviously, he’s one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire in.

“Many times I say, ‘Ronnie, everyone wants to work for you to bring you in the right position, but if you can’t bring yourself in the box, you can’t score.’ He was not capable to do this. It’s the wrong idea to put this to me that I expected him to do the pressing, that he’s exhausted. But he couldn’t. He ran neither in possession nor out of possession. The reason was because he didn’t prepare himself.

“Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team.

“He was telling the players, ‘Save your legs at the training.’ I understand it when you are top fit; you have sessions, you can save the legs. But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”