“Going into the Super Cup with zero minutes”- Fans react as Cristiano Ronaldo left out of Al-Nassr squad for Almeria friendly

Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of the Al Nassr squad for their friendly clash against UD Almeria and fans are not happy about it. The match took place at the UD Almeria Stadium on August 8.

The Portuguese forward recently returned after a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign as his side were eliminated in the quarter-finals against France. He will now likely start the Saudi Super Cup semi-final clash against Al Taawoun on August 14 with virtually zero game time after the Euro 2024 campaign.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr fans didn’t hide their disappointment after the official team sheet was announced. They shared their disappointment on X and some of the reactions are as follows:

“Damn Ronaldo really going into the Super Cup with zero minutes in his legs,” commented one fan on X.

“WHERE IS CRISTIANO RONALDO???????” implored another fan.

“See you next week,” wrote another person on X.

Some fans even questioned whether Ronaldo will be brought on during the second half. Unfortunately, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner isn’t even in the Al Nassr squad for this match.

“Will Cristiano Ronaldo at least play in the second half ?” questioned one fan.

“Siuuuuu where’s Ronaldo,” announced another.

“Ronaldo start from the bench???” asked another fan on X.

Despite the absence of their marquee player, some fans were quite optimistic about their chances in the friendly game and cheered their team.

“Come on Al Nassr,” commented one Al Nassr fan.

“We are winning this boys,” cheered another.

Luis Castro’s starting XI for the game against UD Almeria includes Nawaf Al-Aqidi in between the sticks. Alex Telles, Ali Lajami, Abdulelah Al-Amri, and Sultan Al-Ghannam man the defense. The midfield consists of a double pivot of Marcelo Brozovic and Abdullah Alkhaibari. The team’s attack features Sadio Mane, Otavio, Ayman Ahmed, and Mohammed Khalil Marran.

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for the most goals scored in a single Saudi Pro League season

Ronaldo endured a tough time in the Euro 2024 campaign and his side was knocked out by Kylian Mbappe’s France in the quarter-finals. However, he fired on all cylinders at the club level before the start of the tournament.

The Portuguese talisman bagged a whopping 44 goals and 13 assists in 45 games across all competitions. In the Saudi Pro League, he scored 35 goals and 11 assists in 31 games. As a result, the 39-year-old became the highest goalscorer in a single Saudi Pro League campaign.

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record of former Al Nassr veteran, Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in the 2018-2019 season.