Cristiano Ronaldo recently wen on striker at Al-Nassr after the club’s owners allowed title rivals Al-Hilal to sign Karim Benzema.
Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that he ‘belongs to Saudi Arabia’ in a forceful rebuttal to rumours surrounding his future. The 41-year-old former Manchester United star raised questions about his Al-Nassr career earlier this month when he refused to take to the pitch.
The Portugal skipper sat out two matches in protest at the PIF’s decision to permit Karim Benzema to join Al-Nassr’s title competitors, Al-Hilal, from defending champions Al-Ittihad. All three sides are owned by the PIF, who fund Ronaldo’s staggering £488,000-a-day salary.
Ronaldo ended his boycott last weekend, finding the net in his team’s 2-0 away triumph against Al-Fateh. On Saturday, the five-time Ballon d’Or recipient was back on home turf at Al-Nassr’s stadium and netted a crucial double.
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Their 4-0 triumph over Al-Hazem enabled them to overtake Al-Hilal and claim top spot in the standings by a single point. After the match, Ronaldo spoke to Thmanyah Sports and reasserted his dedication to Saudi Arabia.
“Yeah, I’m very happy,” the forward smiled. “As I say so many times, I belong to Saudi Arabia. It’s a country that welcomed very well to me and my family and my friends.
“I’m happy here. I want to continue here. And the most important, it’s we keep pushing. We are there in the top. Our job is to win, make pressure [on our title rivals], and let’s see.
“We are on track. We’re back; we are good; we are confident. Game by game. We are in a good shape. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”
After reaching an astonishing career total of 962 goals, with assists from team-mate Kingsley Coman in both halves, Ronaldo commented: “We created so many chances, in my opinion. We should score more, but we won – that is the most important.
“Without conceding goals, again. I’m very happy with the result and, of course, for the goals.”
Following the match, Ronaldo donned a traditional bisht to mark Saudi Arabia’s Founding Day. The gesture served as a reminder that the former Manchester United icon continues to be the face of sport across the Middle East.
Earlier in the week, Ronaldo’s manager, Jorge Jesus, defended his captain by suggesting that Al-Hilal possess greater ‘economic power’ than Al-Nassr. “I’ve already been at Al Hilal,” Jesus said.
“I’ve been on the other side, so I know what that’s like. I’ve already benefited from it. They have more economic power.
“hen I was there, I benefited as a coach. It’s normal. Al-Nassr, with different resources, has to compete for the top spots. We have to continue to be strong.”
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