His team were ‘sleeping’
Cristiano Ronaldo slammed his teammates for ‘sleeping’ during Al-Nassr’s 4-1 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final.
Ronaldo stormed out of the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium without collecting his silver medal after his side collapsed.
Just before half-time, Ronaldo fired his side ahead in the cup final as he looked for his second trophy since joining the club in January 2023.
However, Al-Hilal, who won the Saudi Pro League last season without losing a single game, came out fighting, scoring four second-half goals.
The Al-Nassr captain was fuming and with good reason. Al-Hilal’s fourth came as Ronaldo’s teammates attempted to play out from the back. Goalkeeper Bento lost the ball on the edge of the six yard box resulting in a goal for the opposition.
Ronaldo who was standing in the centre circle put his hands together to his ear, gesturing to his teammates that they had been caught sleeping.
Cristiano Ronaldo telling the Al-Nassr players they’re sleeping after Al-Hilal scored 4 goals in 17 minutes… 😴💤pic.twitter.com/XznQ0Ug1UN
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) August 17, 2024
Al-Nassr were presented with medals for coming second in the four-team tournament but the former Manchester United star walked out empty-handed.
He has scored 66 times in 72 matches, winning last season’s Saudi Pro League Golden Boot.
But life has not been rose-y at Al-Nassr as his side finished five points behind champions Al-Ittihad in his first season.
In the 23/24 season they finished 14 points behind Al-Hilal.
Ronaldo has also been left frustrated by rival fans during his time in Saudi Arabia who chant the name of his rival Lionel Messi at every opportunity.
Al-Nassr will hope to bounce back quickly as they begin their latest Saudi Pro League campaign on Thursday when they host Al-Raed.
They are also competing in the King Cup and Champions League Elite this season.
His arrival in the league, boosted the quality of football and competitive nature of the games significantly and a host of players followed in his footsteps after he made the switch.
Neymar, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez have all headed to Saudi Arabia to play their football.
