Al-Nassr legend Fahad Al-Harifi has called for Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the Saudi club. His comments followed Al-Nassr’s heavy 4-0 loss to Al-Ain in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Al-Ain controlled the game from start to finish. Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring after Saad Al-Nasser’s mistake in the 25th minute. Rahimi struck again in the 63rd minute before completing his hat-trick nine minutes later. Georgios Giakoumakis then added a fourth goal in the 85th minute.
Ronaldo struggled to make an impact during the defeat. The Portuguese star managed only one shot on target from five attempts. After the match, Al-Harifi criticised his overall contribution to Al-Nassr. Speaking on the Our League is Different programme, he said:
“Ronaldo has not added anything to Al-Nassr. His presence is not important to the club, and he must be expelled.”
He also questioned Ronaldo’s value to the club commercially.
“He is an older player and does not give me the required addition,” Al-Harifi added.
However, Ronaldo’s numbers at Al-Nassr tell a different part of the story. Since joining in January 2023, he has scored 126 goals and provided 24 assists in 149 appearances. He also helped Al-Nassr win the Saudi Pro League title last season.
Meanwhile, Al-Harifi pointed to Al-Hilal’s decision to part ways with Karim Benzema as an example. He believes Al-Nassr should take a similar approach with Ronaldo.
The comments have now added fresh debate around Ronaldo’s future in Saudi Arabia.
