Cristiano Ronaldo missed his third consecutive game for Al Nassr in his club’s 1-0 victory over Arkadag FC for the first leg of the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League Two, as the Portugal star prepares for an expected return to Saudi Pro League action this Saturday.
Ronaldo has decided to end his boycott of Al Nassr games and he’s planning to return to play for the match against Al Fateh on Feb. 14, sources told ESPN.
The 41-year-old striker was pictured training with other players back in Riyadh in a post on Al Nassr’s social media accounts on Wednesday morning.
Ronaldo sat out two of the Saudi Pro League club’s matches because of his unhappiness with the PIF (Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Investment Fund) and the fund’s strategy for his club in the transfer window, sources said.
Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored the only goal of the game in Asia’s second-tier competition to put Al-Nassr in control ahead of next week’s return match in Riyadh.
In the AFC Champions League Elite, Asia’s premier club tournament, Algeria international Houssem Aouar scored a hat trick as Al-Ittihad routed Al-Gharafa 7-0 in the penultimate round of group stage games. The result ensured the two-time champion joined Al Ahli and Al Hilal in the round of 16.
Information from The Associated Press and PA was used in this report.
