Ronaldo still on strike – the numbers behind forward’s row with Al-Nassr’s transfer policy

Set to miss two games 

A row that erupted on the final day of the winter transfer window between Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr now looks set to rumble on. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Portuguese international is now set to sit-out a second, consecutive match ahead of his club’s clash with Al-Ittihad on Friday. Ronaldo was absent from Al-Nassr’s starting XI in a league match for the first time since May 2025, when his team played Al-Riyadh on Monday and now looks to make it two from two. Which has sparked huge speculation over the player’s future in Saudi Arabia.

According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Ronaldo has effectively gone on strike at the club due to a lack of investment in his team during the winter transfer window. The report suggests that Ronaldo’s reported frustration comes down to the lack of commitment shown by the PIF (Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia) to invest in new players for Al-Nassr in comparison to other clubs in the league. On the final day of the window, league rivals Al-Hilal signed Karim Benzema from fellow Saudi side Al-Ittihad.

The newspaper claims that despite Al-Nassr having a number of Portuguese decision makers at the club – such as manager Jorge Jesus, sporting director Simão Coutinho and CEO José Semedo – requests to invest heavily in new players during the January transfer window were ignored by the club’s board of directors. And that certainly lines up with the club’s activity in the transfer window, where Al-Nassr picked up just one new player in 21-year-old central midfielder Haydeer Abdulkareem from Iraqi club Al-Zawraa. Which stands in stark contrast to spending elsewhere in the league by Al-Hilal – who are also owned by the PIF – spending at least €43m on four new players, including highly-rated Ligue 1 centre forward Kader Meïté and the aformentioned Benzema.

And Ronaldo may have a point. When the Portuguese superstar joined the club in January 2023, the club’s squad had a market value of €79m. That may not seem like much, but it was the highest in the league by some distance – almost twice that of second-placed Al-Hilal on €49.6m. However, since then, Al-Nassr have seen their standing in the Saudi Pro League drop down to fourth place based on squad market value, with Ronaldo and his squad mates worth a total of €133.4m, putting them behind Al-Ahli (€199 m), Al-Hilal (€190m) and Al-Ittihad (€164m). Similarly, since the summer of 2023, Al-Nassr’s net spend in the league has stood at just €376m, which is almost half that of Al-Hilal, whose net spend currently stands at €596m.

“This story has gained traction in Portugal over the last few hours, with the press reporting that Ronaldo refused to play for Al-Nassr,” said Gonçalo Tristão Santos, Transfermarkt’s Portuguese football expert. “Ronaldo reportedly feels that the PIF is acting unfairly by allocating far more funds and signing more and better players for Al-Hilal, which puts Al-Nassr at a disadvantage in the title race. In general, I’d say Portuguese fans understand why Ronaldo went to Saudi Arabia, but the truth is that he seems to have lost some credibility with his move to Al-Nassr. And that’s normal, people know that Saudi football is weaker and of lower quality than European football.”

So could this be the beginning of the end for Ronaldo and his high-profile stint in Portugal? It certainly remains to be seen and with a contract set to run until 2027, it seems unlikely that anyone would be offering to buy the 40-year-old talent. But such a public spat is unlike the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star and could point to a change of plan going forward. In any case, I don’t think anyone truly believes in Ronaldo’s return to European football,” said Santos. “But you never know. This alleged attitude from Ronaldo is a new variable that could lead to him leaving Al-Nassr earlier than expected and, if that happens, there would certainly be European clubs interested in signing him.”