Cristiano Ronaldo Expected to Return for Al-Nassr in Asian Champions League

Since his arrival in Saudi Arabia, Cristiano Ronaldo has not yet been awarded a significant prize. Al-Nassr will be hoping that the Portuguese superstar, who is now 41 years old, will return to action on Wednesday in order to assist the Riyadh club in getting closer to winning a national championship.

The match between Al-Nassr and Arkadag of Turkmenistan is being played with the possibility of Al-Nassr advancing to the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League Two.

According to sources, Ronaldo has not participated in either of Al-Nassr’s most recent two matches in the Saudi Pro League. This is due to the fact that he is reportedly dissatisfied with the manner in which the club is being funded, particularly after witnessing rival Al-Hilal sign Karim Benzema during the transfer window this past month.

Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli are all companies that are held by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in a majority capacity.

In a statement, the Scottish Premier League (SPL) emphasized that no player is more important than the team or the league.

“The Saudi Pro League is structured around a simple principle: every club operates independently under the same rules,” the league said. “Cristiano has been fully engaged with Al-Nassr since his arrival and has played an important role in the club’s growth and ambition. However, no individual, regardless of how significant they may be, determines decisions that extend beyond their own club.”

On Friday, Al-Nassr defeated the incumbent champion Al-Ittihad by a score of 2-0, despite the fact that the five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or was not there.

With two more games to go in the group stage, Ittihad is the only one of the three Saudi teams competing in the top-tier AFC Champions League Elite that has not yet clinched a spot in the round of 16.

In spite of the fact that it lost star striker Karim Benzema to Al-Hilal last week, Ittihad will be able to advance to the next round if it wins against Al-Gharafa of Qatar on Tuesday. Al-Hilal has a history of making high-profile transfers, including Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.

The second round of the event is reserved for the eight teams that finish in the top eight in each of the two 12-team groups that are geographically separated into East Asia and West Asia.

The fact that Al-Hilal is the only team in the western zone to have a perfect record of six victories from six means that coach Simone Inzaghi has the ability to choose which players to rest. Al-Ahli, which won its maiden Champions League crown in May, is also guaranteed a position in the knockout stage.

Vissel Kobe is the only team in the eastern zone to have secured a spot in the round of 16, but if Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Machida Zelvia also win this week, Japan will have three teams in the round of 16.

The three delegates of China, who are currently occupying the three lowest posts, are the target of the pressure.

Both Chengdu Rongcheng and Shanghai Shenhua would be able to maintain their chances of winning the tournament if they were to win. The Chinese champion Shanghai Port is currently in last place and is on the approach of being eliminated from the competition.