Cristiano Ronaldo on collision course with Saudis after missing match

Cristiano Ronaldo is on an extraordinary collision course with the Saudi Pro League after Karim Benzema was allowed to switch to his club’s closest title rivals.

Ronaldo is furious at the perceived lack of investment in Al-Nassr and missed their 1-0 win – through Sadio Mané’s goal – over Al-Riyadh on Monday that took them to just a point behind the leaders Al-Hilal, who could only draw.

The Portuguese was not in the squad amid reports he had refused to play because of his dispute which held up the Benzema deal.

The transfer to Al-Hilal – from another big Saudi club, Al-Ittihad – is finally being allowed to go through now his contract has been terminated, but has cast doubt over Ronaldo’s future in Saudi Arabia.

It remains to be seen how the situation is resolved, how far Ronaldo is prepared to go in his protestations and whether he will be fined. The development has caused huge upheaval in the SPL.

All three of those clubs are controlled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) which also controls Newcastle United, and which had initially sanctioned Benzema’s move.

The 38-year-old French striker is out of contract at Al-Ittihad in June, with the Jeddah-based club attempting to create room in their squad, and finances, to be in the bidding to sign Mohamed Salah should he leave Liverpool at the end of the season. N’Golo Kanté is also expected to leave Al-Ittihad for Turkish club Fenerbahce.

Benzema, who has agreed an 18-month deal, wanted to move to Al-Hilal and was unhappy with the contract extension that he was offered to remain at Al-Ittihad. Sources close to Benzema say he found the financial terms “disrespectful”, but Saudi sources insist that a “good offer” was made and no agreement could be reached.

Benzema, who played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, had withdrawn from the Al-Ittihad squad and has been training on his own ahead of his deadline-day move.

It is understood that Ronaldo is annoyed that Al-Hilal have now been allowed to strengthen their team, with Benzema signing, while Al-Nassr have not. The two clubs are the most successful in Saudi Arabia, having won 19 league titles between them.

However, senior sources have pointed out that Al-Nassr have benefited from significant investment and not least with the incredibly lucrative contract that Ronaldo signed.

They insist that everything has been done correctly and the Benzema deal has not been any different than would have happened in any other deal – although it is unusual to allow such a departure to an immediate rival.

The Portuguese forward, who turns 41 on Thursday, joined Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2022, becoming the best-paid player in football history with an annual salary of £177m.

So far Ronaldo has only won the Arab Club Champions Club with Al-Nassr, but signed a new contract last June which keeps him there until at least June 2027.

He has embraced life in the kingdom and has become the face of the SPL, declaring “I belong to Saudi Arabia” when that new deal was announced.

While the other PIF clubs – Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and also Al-Ahli – have all won major trophies, Ronaldo is yet to win domestic silverware, which has become increasingly irritating for him.

Ronaldo, who has been the top scorer for the past two seasons, is believed to be desperate to win the Saudi league title – having finished second, second and third – and had demanded Al-Nassr make signings as they try to finish ahead of Al-Hilal.

The forward scored his 17th of the season last Friday to reach 961 career goals – just 39 short of his target of 1,000.

After being named the Best Middle East Player at the Globe Soccer Awards in December, Ronaldo said: “You know what my goal is. I want to win trophies and I want to reach that number that you all know. I will reach that number for sure, if no injuries.”

Al-Nassr’s only addition in the January window has been 21-year-old Iraqi midfielder Haydeer Abdulkareem, while Al-Hilal have also spent £28m on former Arsenal defender Pablo Marí and Mohamed Meïté from Stade Rennais.

Al-Nassr have spent less than Al-Hilal on transfer fees during Ronaldo’s time at the club, but have received a similar budget, much of it, of course, committed to pay for the forward.

Al-Nassr signed João Félix from Chelsea for £43.7m last summer along with Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich. It is believed that both signings were backed by Ronaldo, with Al-Nassr also having a Portuguese chief executive, José Semedo, and sporting director, Simão, who are close to him.

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