Cristiano Ronaldo became the subject of jeers when Al Nassr faced Al Ittihad in the semifinals of the Saudi Super Cup on Friday (27/1/2023) early in the morning in Asia. In the match at the King Fahd International Stadium, Al Nassr was forced to admit defeat to Al Ittihad, 3-1.
Al Ittihad was already two goals ahead in the first half through Romarinho and Abderrazak Hamdallah. Al Nassr managed to respond in the 67th minute. However, the goal was not scored by Ronaldo, but by Anderson Talisca. Al Ittihad finally confirmed their ticket to the final of the Saudi Super Cup when they scored the last goal in the match, exactly in the 92nd minute through Muhannad Al Shanqeeti.
For Ronaldo, this match was his second in an Al Nassr uniform since his transfer at the end of last year. However, like his debut in a competitive match with Al Nassr last weekend, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner also failed to score.
Even based on statistics, the 37-year-old player only released one shot on target in two early chances to strengthen Al Nassr in competitive matches. While in those two matches, Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes.
Specifically, in the match against Al Ittihad, Ronaldo almost brought Al Nassr level. But, the opportunities in front of the goal in the first half were not perfectly utilized by the former Real Madrid star. Ronaldo seems to still need time to adapt to the playing style in Saudi Arabia.
''Not only in terms of performance, Ronaldo also seems to have to start to endure various jeers directed at him. In a video that is circulating, Al Ittihad fans were caught jeering Ronaldo,'' wrote the Express report, Friday (27/1/2023).
The jeers from Al Ittihad fans also brought up the name of Paris Saint Germain (PSG) star, Lionel Messi. Some Al Ittihad fans in the match were caught shouting Messi's name, ''Messi, Messi, Messi''. These jeers are likely referring to the competition between Ronaldo and Messi in the last two decades.
To make Ronaldo feel disturbed, the Al Ittihad fans seem to deliberately mention Messi's name. The player who led Argentina to the top of the World Cup 2022 standings is considered far superior to Ronaldo, who was signed on a two-and-a-half-year contract and receives a salary of 200 million euros per season with Al Nassr."