Cristiano Ronaldo was absent for the second consecutive match with Al Nassr amid his ongoing dispute with the Saudi Pro League.
The 41-year-old missed out on the squad for the match against Al Ittihad, Saturday, February 7, 2026, early morning WIB, after also not appearing in the victory over Al Riyadh on Monday, February 2, 2026.
Launching ESPN, Ronaldo plans to boycott the match after not receiving assurances that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia/Public Investment Fund (PIF) will make changes regarding the management of the Saudi Pro League club.
However, Al Nassr expects Ronaldo to take part in the match. In fact, the Portuguese star is still absent.
ESPN reported that Ronaldo was absent in the victory against Al Riyadh due to his dissatisfaction with PIF's assistance to Al Nassr in the transfer market.
Ronaldo watched his club rival, Al Hilal - which is also 75 percent owned by PIF - sign Karim Benzema, his former teammate at Real Madrid, from Al Ittihad during the January 2026 transfer window.
Seeing Ronaldo's form of protest, the Saudi Pro League issued a condemnation on Thursday, February 5, 2026, warning the Al Nassr player that no player can influence decisions outside his own team.
"The Saudi Pro League is structured on a simple principle. Each club operates independently under the same rules."
"Clubs have their own boards of directors, their own executives, and their own football leadership. Decisions on recruitment, spending, and strategy are in the hands of those clubs, within financial frameworks designed to ensure sustainability and competitive balance."
"The framework applies equally to all leagues. Cristiano has been fully involved with Al Nassr since his arrival and has played a key role in the club's growth and ambitions."
"Like any other elite competitor, he wants to win. However, no individual - however important - decides on decisions outside their own club."
"Recent transfer activity shows that independence is clear. One club strengthens itself in a certain way."
"Other clubs have chosen a different approach. That is the decision of the club, taken within the approved financial parameters.
"The competitiveness of the league speaks for itself. With only a few points separating the top four clubs, the title race is very much alive."
"The level of balance reflects a system that is functioning as it should. The focus remains on football - on the field, where it should be - and on maintaining a credible and competitive competition for players and fans," said the Saudi Pro League statement.
The transfer fund is understood not to come from PIF, but from player acquisition funds. The fund is centrally overseen by the Saudi Pro League and provides funding for clubs each year based on their size.
The country's four big clubs - Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli - are believed to have received a similar amount before last year's summer transfer window opened.
Apart from that, Al Nassr won the match against Al Ittihad with a score of 2-0 to rise to second place in the Saudi Pro League standings. He is only one point behind the leader of the standings, Al Hilal.
The fans showed their solidarity to the Portuguese star, by raising a yellow banner with Ronaldo's name and his signature number seven on the seventh minute at Al-Awwal Park.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
