Cristiano Ronaldo was absent for the second consecutive match with Al Nassr due to an ongoing disagreement with the Saudi Pro League.
The 41-year-old did not participate in Friday’s game against Al Ittihad, having also missed the victory over Al Riyadh on Monday.
According to sources, Ronaldo intended to boycott Friday’s match as he did not receive a guarantee regarding changes to the management of the Saudi Pro League club by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Nevertheless, Al Nassr had been anticipating Ronaldo’s participation, sources indicated.
ESPN reported that Ronaldo skipped Monday’s victory due to dissatisfaction with the support from the PIF during the transfer window.
Ronaldo’s club rivals, Al Hilal, which is also 75% owned by the PIF, secured Karim Benzema, his former Real Madrid teammate, from Al Ittihad in the January transfer window.
Al Nassr won the match on Friday 2-0, moving up to second place in the league standings, just one point behind leaders Al Hilal.
The Saudi Pro League issued a statement on Thursday informing Ronaldo that players cannot influence decisions beyond their own teams.
“The Saudi Pro League is structured around a straightforward principle: Every club operates independently under the same rules,” the league stated.
“Clubs have their own boards, executives, and football leadership. Decisions on recruitment, spending, and strategy are made by those clubs, within a financial framework designed to ensure sustainability and competitive balance, applicable across the league.
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“Cristiano has been fully engaged with Al Nassr since his arrival and has played a crucial role in the club’s development and ambitions,” the statement added. “Like any elite competitor, he aims to win. yet, no individual—regardless of their significance—can make decisions beyond their own club.
“Recent transfer activity illustrates this independence clearly. One club strengthened in a specific way, while another opted for a different strategy. Those were decisions taken by the clubs, within approved financial parameters.
“The competitiveness of the league is evident,” the league remarked. “With only a few points separating the top four, the title race remains very much alive. This balance reflects a system that functions as intended.
“The focus remains on football—on the pitch, where it belongs—and on maintaining a credible, competitive environment for both players and fans.”
Transfer funds are understood to come not from the PIF but rather from a player acquisition fund.
This fund, overseen centrally by the Saudi Pro League, allocates annual funding to clubs based on their size, with the nation’s top four—Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli—all believed to have received approximately the same amount before the summer transfer window opened last year.
ESPN’s Bruno Andrade and Julien Laurens and PA contributed to this report.
