Cristiano Ronaldo missed his third consecutive game for Al Nassr in his club’s 1-0 victory over Arkadag FC in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Two round of 16 tie, as the Portuguese star prepares for a long-awaited return to Saudi Pro League action this Saturday.
Ronaldo has decided to end his boycott of Al Nassr matches and plans to return to play for the match against Al Fateh on February 14, sources told ESPN.
The 41-year-old forward was pictured training with other players in Riyadh in a post on Al Nassr’s social media accounts on Wednesday morning.
Ronaldo missed two of the club’s Saudi Pro League matches due to his discontent with the PIF (Saudi Arabian 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 the Asian second division competition to give Al-Nassr control ahead of next week’s second leg in Riyadh.
In the AFC Champions League Elite, Asia’s premier club tournament, Algerian international Houssem Aouar scored a hat-trick as Al-Ittihad beat Al-Gharafa 7-0 in the penultimate round of the group stage. The result ensured that the two-time champions joined Al Ahli and Al Hilal in the round of 16.
Information from The Associated Press and PA was used in this report.