Ronaldo Breaks Silence On Al-Nassr Strike: 'The Most Important Thing Is...'

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 17:42 IST

Cristiano Ronaldo breaks silence on his controversial 'strike' at Al-Nassr and clarifies stance on his future in the Saudi Pro League.

Cristiano Ronaldo has allayed some doubts over his future at Al-Nassr FC, insisting he remains fully committed to the Saudi Pro League side despite sitting out two matches earlier this month.

The 41-year-old forward responded to the speculation emphatically on the pitch, scoring twice in a commanding 4-0 victory over Al-Hazem FC on Saturday. The brace took his tally to 21 goals for the season and marked a strong statement after a brief period of controversy.

With it, he became the first player in history to score 500 official goals after turning 30.

There were worries that he would not achieve the record at Al-Nassr after the superstar made himself unavailable for fixtures against Al-Riyadh SC and Al-Ittihad Club. His absence was widely interpreted as a protest over the club’s limited activity in the winter transfer window, with frustration reportedly directed at the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Ronaldo returned to action in the win over Al-Fateh SC last weekend and was keen to stress that he has no intention of leaving.

“I’m very happy. As I say so many times, I belong to Saudi Arabia," he said. “It’s a country that welcomed me, my family and my friends very well. I’m happy here. I want to continue here. And the most important thing, it’s we keep pushing. We are there at the top. Our job is to win, make pressure [on our title rivals], and let’s see. We are on track. We’re back, we are good, we are confident. Game by game. We are in good shape. Let’s see what’s going to happen."

Midfielder Haydeer Abdulkareem was the only addition to Al-Nassr during the winter period, despite manager Jorge Jesus calling for reinforcements. Some reports in Portugal even said that CR7 was particularly frustrated after seeing the PIF invest in Al-Hilal to sign his former Real Madrid teammate and Ballon D’Or winner Karim Benzema, a big boost to a direct rival in the closely-fought title race.

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