Al-Nassr has debunked claims that club president Musalli Al-Muammar said he feels “cheated” by Cristiano Ronaldo. Many Spanish newspapers, it turns out, published fabricated quotes from Al-Muammar. “I have only been cheated twice in my life, the first time was when I asked for three kebabs and they only gave me two, and the second time was when Cristiano Ronaldo signed here.”
Al-Muammar’s quotes appeared online after Ronaldo’s difficult first months in Saudi Arabia. The club’s press adviser, Walid Al-Muhaidib, has the Spanish press agency EFE let it be known that there is fake news. For example, chairman Al-Muammar is said to have recently not given interviews and the Saudi website Arab News 50, which was cited as a source by the Spanish newspapers, did not exist at all. “The fabricated quotes were picked up by real media and they thought it was true,” Al-Nassr’s press officer said.
Cristiano Ronaldo fumes at his own bench as Al-Nassr go in behind at half-time ??pic.twitter.com/gC3nzkgTzR
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 24, 2023
Ronaldo made the much-discussed switch to Saudi Arabia at the beginning of this calendar year and has since scored eleven goals in fourteen official matches on behalf of Al-Nassr. He will most likely not win a prize this season alone. The Saudi top club has been kicked out of all three cup tournaments and seems to be able to forget a national championship. The gap with leader Al-Ittihad is currently six points with six games to go.
Ronaldo is also well on his way to making himself impossible in Saudi Arabia. The Portuguese star attacker clashed with reserve players from his own team on Thursday evening during the lost cup match with Al-Wehda (0-1). Afterwards he couldn’t bring himself to look the match winner Jean-David Beauguel in the eye and congratulate him. Beauguel, who once wore the shirt of RKC Waalwijk, tried to talk to the Portuguese superstar. “After the game I told him that I am a big fan of his and that I would like to have his shirt,” the attacker told the French L’Equipe.
That did not lead to an animated conversation between the two. “Ronaldo shook my hand but didn’t really look at me,” Beauguel described. “He also put on a contemptuous look. Of course I understand that he is disappointed because his team lost, but his reaction surprised me. During the game he was also annoying and he often shouted at his teammates.”