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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/Sparky-moon on 2026-02-05 08:46:36+00:00.
Original Title: [Athletic] There is no guarantee Ronaldo will return for Friday’s match versus Al Ittihad. The forward, who turns 41 today, is unhappy with how the club is being managed, while their biggest rivals Al Hilal have just signed his old Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema.
Saudi Pro League (SPL) club Al Nassr pay him more than £175million ($240m) a year but Ronaldo, who turns 41 on Thursday, was not involved in their last game following a disagreement over how the club is being managed.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, who has a €50million (£44m, $60m) release clause in his contract, was not part of Al Nassr’s squad for their 1-0 win against Al Riyadh on Monday night, and there has been no guarantee that he will be back for their match on Friday against Al Ittihad.
Sources at Al Nassr, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said “it’s totally impossible to predict” what will happen next with Ronaldo, adding “it will be day by day”.
Ronaldo feels let down by the Al Nassr hierarchy because he believes they did not adequately strengthen the squad during the January transfer window, only signing Abdullah Al-Hamdan, a Saudi Arabia international centre-forward, from Al Hilal, and Haydeer Abdulkareem, an Iraqi midfielder, from Al-Zawraa SC.
Despite winning five games in a row, Al Nassr lost against Al Ahli and Al Hilal in January, their two main rivals for the SPL title.
The former Manchester United forward is desperate to win the league with Al Nassr and they are in a position to achieve that goal, so the fact they did not make any marquee signings in January to help them get over the line has irked him.
Instead, Ronaldo watched as another PIF majority-owned club, Al Hilal, significantly strengthened their squad by signing former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad.
This has led Ronaldo to feel there are different levels of ambition at the PIF clubs and that Al Nassr have not shown the same level of intent, while perhaps overlooking the impact his £175million salary must have on their ability to spend.
Senior sources at Al Nassr with knowledge of Ronaldo’s thinking, speaking on the condition of anonymity, noted on Wednesday that the player’s frustration does not solely stem from the Benzema transaction.
They say Benzema’s transfer was the final trigger but that Ronaldo’s irritation goes far deeper, believing the club is not being supported operationally and financially.
Ronaldo’s protestations, the senior source added, are about defending the club’s interests and wanting equal treatment.
However, sources close to PIF stressed that the sovereign wealth fund has no role in sporting decisions at any of the four clubs, and none of the PIF representatives sit on the sporting committees of their teams.
The same sources noted that there are clear and deliberate divisions between the investment, sporting and business sides of the PIF-owned clubs, enabling them to operate independently as opposed to being run as one group.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal controls the minority stake in Al Hilal and the deal to bring in Benzema, 38, is understood to have been plotted and bankrolled by the billionaire, rather than it being a PIF initiative.
Although the two-year contract he signed last summer further cemented his relationship with PIF and Al Nassr, it will only have 12 months remaining once the summer window opens.
His €50m clause can be triggered this summer, too, but it remains to be seen whether one of Europe’s leading sides or an MLS team would be willing to compile a significant financial package for a 41-year-old.