Cristiano Ronaldo remains frustrated with the PIF over Al Nassr’s lack of transfer activity and will seek to leave the Saudi club if he doesn’t get the necessary promises
Cristiano Ronaldo will continue sitting out games for Al-Nassr and will look to quit the club if he doesn’t receive promises over their future activity, it has been claimed.
The Portuguese star refused to play in Al Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday due to his frustration with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) over a lack of transfer moves at the club.
His anger peaked when he saw their title rivals Al-Hilal, who sit one point ahead of them in the table, make Karim Benzema their fifth signing of the window as they further bolstered their ranks with the former Ballon d’Or winner. Al-Nassr meanwhile did little by way of recruitment.
Ronaldo has made it known that he will boycott a second straight league game after not receiving a concrete guarantee that the PIF will make changes regarding their management, reports ESPN.
Discussions will continue but Ronaldo has reportedly made it clear he will ask to leave in June if he doesn’t receive the necessary promises as he bids to win the league for the first time since heading to the Middle East.
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Despite scoring with regularity Ronaldo has been unable to lead Al-Nassr to league success and has been frustrated by the PIF’s lack of investment in the squad. Al-Nassr are one of several teams owned by the PIF – but Al-Hilal are not under that umbrella of clubs.
Ronaldo does count Sadio Mane, Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman as team-mates but is still looking for Al-Nassr to remain competitive with their rivals. Alongside Benzema, Al-Hilal also bought in striker Mohamed Meite from Rennes, former Arsenal defender Pablo Mari as well as two Saudi internationals in Murad Al Hawsawi and Sultan Mandash.
On Wednesday, Ronaldo posted a picture of himself training on his social media. Club officials were surprised that he was unhappy – despite earning a reported £500,000 a day – and want him to play against Al-Ittihad on Friday. A win would see them go top of the table.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has 18 months left on his contract but it does have a £43m (€50m) summer release clause – even though he will turn 41 on Thursday.
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