Why Security Concerns Were Not to Blame for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr Absence
Al Nassr’s quest to lift the AFC Champions League title continued on Monday with a 6–2 win over Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor Tashkent—a victory achieved without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is Al Nassr’s top scorer so far this season with nine goals in 12 games, although some are arguing that he should actually be sitting on eight strikes, and he has been a permanent feature in Ange Postecoglou’s squad when available.
As a result, there were obvious concerns about Ronaldo’s situation, and conflicting reports about his absence did not help matters.
Reports from outlets like the Daily Mail claimed Ronaldo had been left out of the matchday squad because of security concerns. A handful of airports in Saudi Arabia have been targeted by terrorist attacks in recent weeks, which led to the postponement of last week’s AFC Champions League match between Al Nassr and Al Wasl.
However, when manager Postecoglou was asked to explain Ronaldo’s absence, he put it down to fitness and an attempt to shield the 41-year-old from the impact of traveling during a hectic scheduling period.
Either way, Ronaldo is expected back in the Al Nassr squad for their next outing against Al Hazem on Friday.
Postecoglou: Al Nassr Are Not Better Without Ronaldo
In Ronaldo’s absence, Al Nassr made light work of their opponents, with João Félix playing a starring role with two goals and two assists.
After the game, Postecoglou was asked whether his Al Nassr side may be in a similar situation to the Portugal national team, with many questioning whether they are actually better without Ronaldo on the pitch. The boss wasted little time disagreeing.
“But Cris played the last game and we scored five goals,” Postecoglou highlighted. “If Cris plays, doesn’t play, what is the most important is the players who played today performed at a very strong level.
“We know the opposition have done very well against the other Saudi teams so it wasn’t going to be easy. But our attacking play in general was very, very good.
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“I’m sure if Cris was here, it would’ve been very good too.”
Ronaldo will enter the next round of fixtures looking up at Al Ahli’s Ivan Toney in the Saudi Pro League scoring charts. The Englishman has netted 12 times, including five penalties, in nine appearances.
Whether Ronaldo sits tied for second or alone in third depends on where you look. Some outlets credit him with eight goals, but others have declined to award him the controversial effort against Al Faisaly and leave him on seven. Officially, the Saudi Pro League have sided with Ronaldo.
