Al-Nassr CEO provides update on Cristiano Ronaldo's future after loss to Al-Hilal in King's Cup final
Al-Nassr CEO Guido Fienga has provided an update on Cristiano Ronaldo's future at the club. This comes after the superstar and his teammates lost on penalties to Al-Hilal in the King's Cup final on Friday (May 31) and Ronaldo was seen in tears.
It was a fast-paced end-to-end match, with Al-Nassr looking to dominate the proceedings from the very start. This backfired as Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the opener with just seven minutes on the clock to put Al-Hilal ahead. Nassr fought hard, with Ronaldo seeing quite a few chances get saved or blocked at the last, as he looked to impact the game in the final third.
However, it was difficult for the team to keep their emotions in check, as yellow cards began to flow from referee Dario Herrera. Goalkeeper David Ospina picked up a red card after he handled the ball outside the box, putting Al-Nassr on the back foot and seemingly unable to get anything out of the game.
With just three minutes left of normal time, Al-Hilal went one man down as Ali Albulayhi was shown a red card. Ayman Yahya scored almost immediately after to level the game late on before Kalidou Koulibaly also saw red, sending Hilal down to nine men.
In the resulting extra time, Al-Nassr had the upper hand but Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates were unable to find the much-needed goal, and the game went to penalties. Al-Hilal eventually won the nervy shootout 5-4, and Nassr ended the season trophyless.
Ronaldo was seen in tears and inconsolable afterward, as the season passed without the forward lifting a trophy. However, he will have another chance to fight next season, as club CEO Guido Fienga has revealed that the legendary striker will remain at the club (via Fabrizio Romano).
Manchester United Women star shares Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's impact on her career
Although the superstar now plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, the impact he had at Manchester United cannot be understated. Ronaldo notably lashed out at the club in a public interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, which led to his dismissal, with many fans and pundits divided on his status as a club legend.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo remains important to United Women star Ella Toone as she explained to Sky Sports:
“I always say it. He’s probably had such an impact on my career, the way that I wanted to be and that was Cristiano Ronaldo. I wore his boots. I wore the No 7 shirt. I was in love with him at Manchester United and the skills that he did and the confidence he played with.”
Toone was a part of the United team that won the FA Cup this season.