A needless ban & a huge miss: Cristiano Ronaldo must shoulder the blame for Al-Nassr’s crisis

The Portuguese icon has contributed to a nightmarish period for the Saudi giants, which culminated in their AFC Champions League exit

A sharp downturn in form has plummeted Al-Nassr into full-blown crisis mode; a dismal two-week period since the start of March has seen their faint title hopes snuffed out, and their Asian Champions League (ACL) dreams unceremoniously ended at the quarter-final stage.

As you might expect, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been the protagonist – but this time he has been unable to act the hero. In fact, he has contributed in no small part to his side’s downfall over the course of a torrid fortnight, courtesy of obscene gestures and staggering, uncharacteristic misses.

Al-Nassr’s chances of success this season now hang in the balance, and head coach Luis Castro suddenly finds his job on the line with potentially just one more game to save himself. There is huge expectation on Ronaldo’s shoulders to get his side out of the predicament they find themselves in, but in many ways this is a mess of his own making.

Nightmarish 2024

The year 2024 has not been kind to Al-Nassr so far, with the Riyadh side winning just two of their four league games since the end of the winter break in mid-February. After victories over Al-Fateh and Al-Shabab, their form dipped alarmingly, with Ronaldo-less Al-Nassr first being held at home by bottom club Al-Hazm, before a dire 3-1 home reverse to lowly Al-Raed – all-but extinguishing their slim hopes of catching rampant league leaders Al-Hilal.

The Champions League had provided a welcome distraction, but their journey was brought to an abrupt end by Emirati club Al Ain on Monday at the quarter-final stage, with Al-Nassr missing three penalties in an agonising shootout defeat having done the hard work by battling back from 3-0 down on aggregate in normal time.

Despite everything he has done for the club in his brief time in the Middle East, there is one man who must take accountability for his club’s struggles.

Unnecessary suspension

While Ronaldo has kept up his ridiculous goal-scoring rate in 2024, it has been a dreadful couple of weeks for the Portuguese superstar. Al-Nassr’s fortunes began to change in late February, when the vastly experienced forward needlessly responded to chants of Lionel Messi’s name from opposition supporters during the victory over Al-Shabab, crudely motioning towards his groin after his goal from the penalty spot was greeted by the taunts.

The obscene gesture saw the 39-year-old fall foul of the Saudi authorities, despite his insistence that his actions would have been perfectly acceptable in Europe, and he was handed a one-match ban following an investigation. “I will always respect the cultures of all countries, as I have respected to this day, but not always what people see is reality,” he later said. “It is obvious that I will not do it again in this country, but in Europe, it is very normal. Sometimes the passion and excitement of the game leads us to make some mistakes.”

Bad to worse for CR7

Ronaldo returned for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Al Ain, but he drew a rare blank as he was kept quiet by an effective defence in a 1-0 defeat on the road. He followed that up with a profligate display in the damaging league loss to struggling Al-Raed, as the woodwork denied him on two occasions.

The veteran superstar was back on the scoresheet in the Al Ain second leg, scoring a last-ditch penalty in extra-time to force a shootout – but he could have been the hero with an even more telling contribution earlier in the game. With the scores 2-2 on the night and Al Ain still leading on aggregate, Ronaldo somehow conspired to miss from just three yards out after the goalkeeper spilled the ball into his path.

Although team-mate Alex Telles saved his blushes to force extra-time, before Ronaldo somewhat made amends to take the game to a shootout by putting Al-Nassr back ahead on the night after Al Ain had equalised in the additional 30 minutes, he could have helped his team to secure a remarkable victory in normal time had his usual predatory instincts not deserted him.

Season dangling by a thread
A forgettable fortnight has left Al-Nassr’s season hanging in the balance; they now find themselves 12 points adrift of runaway leaders Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League, with the defeat to Al Ain – who themselves are second in the UAE Pro League – ending their dreams of continental success in 2023-24.

There is the sense that Al-Nassr could be left with little to play for, with a torrid period leaving the two most prestigious trophies on offer well out of reach. Now it is a matter of ensuring the season does not peter out, and senior figures like Ronaldo will be central to ensuring that doesn’t happen.

The Riyadh side are nailed on to reach the Champions League again, as the top-three in the Pro League qualifying automatically for the competition, and they are still in contention for two pieces of domestic silverware in the form of the the King Cup and Super Cup. They are hardly favourites for the latter, however, with old foes Al-Hilal their opponents in the semi-finals.

‘I’m not afraid of being fired’

However, the Knights of Najd’s alarming run of form since the turn of the month could still have grave consequences for head coach Castro. All major Saudi outlets and sources close to the club believe that he is all but doomed to be sacked, and it is now just a question of when – not if – he is axed. His bosses have been left unimpressed with Al-Nassr’s dwindling title challenge and perceived premature exit from the Champions League, given the amount of money they have invested in the squad.

Indeed, speaking after the exit to Al Ain on penalties, the Portuguese seemed resigned to the idea. “Football justice was not with us,” he said. “We practised penalty kicks and the players have the responsibility to take them. Individual mistakes are our responsibility, including injuries and suspensions.”

He added: “My only sadness is not being able to send Al-Nassr fans home happy. We may still be able to win the King Cup and the Super Cup, but we may also not win. If you want to know if my work is good or bad, ask the players about my work. I am not afraid of being fired. My presence at Al-Nassr is because of my hard work, and I am not here just for the results. The Arab world debates results, not actions. Life is not just this.”

Last-chance saloon
However, Castro may be offered a reprieve – although it already feels as though it may be too little, too late after a disastrous couple of weeks. Al-Nassr come up against third-placed Al-Ahli in the league on Friday night in their increasingly futile pursuit of Al-Hilal in the title race. If they fail to secure anything less than a victory to lock down second spot and increase the cushion over their opponents to nine points, it seems it will almost certainly be curtains for Castro.

The manager’s fate hangs by a thread, and Ronaldo could well be playing to save his compatriot’s job. Indeed, in the weeks to come, Al-Nassr will need their talisman firing on all cylinders to salvage anything from a season that is in serious danger of fizzling out.