Cristiano Ronaldo sends 7-word message after scoring in Al-Nassr win over Al Rayyan; Rio Ferdinand reacts with ‘shock’ comment
Cristiano Ronaldo shared a message on social media after helping Al-Nassr to a 2-1 win over Al Rayyan on Monday, September 30. His former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand reacted to the post as well.
Al Nassr hosted Al Rayyan at Al-Awwal Park in their AFC Champions League Group B clash on Monday. Sadio Mane scored in the first minute of the first-half stoppage time. Cristiano Ronaldo made it 2-0 in the 76th minute with a brilliant finish from his left foot from inside the box.
Roger Guedes got one back for the visitors in the 87th minute but the Knights of Njad held on to the win. After the game, Ronaldo shared some images from the match on his X account, writing:
"Hard work pays off. Let's keep going!"
Rio Ferdinand reacted to the post, writing:
"Shock"
Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand shared the pitch 221 times during their time together at Manchester United and have been good friends since.
The Portuguese, meanwhile, has now reached 904 career goals for club and country. He's scored six goals and provided two assists in seven games across competitions for Al-Nassr this season. They sit third in their AFC Champions League group and fourth in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened up on his retirement in a chat with Rio Ferdinand
Cristiano Ronaldo is 39 years old now and will turn 40 in February 2025. He is still going and performing well for both club and country. However, he is definitely in his twilight now and would be looking at his retirement plans.
Many assume that the Portuguese might go into coaching after retiring. However, in a conversation with Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel UR Cristiano, he picked a different option. He said (via Mirror):
"For me will be difficult one day to be a coach, because I don't have passions for this generation, it's difficult especially in football, because they don't take advice by our experience. They think they know everything, they think the phones will give you good education, the TikTok, the Instagram.
"I have other things to worry about, another chapter of my life that is a business part that I'm excited about. It will be a challenge to me and learn other areas I don't know, be more involved in my business and I think will be good."
Cristiano Ronaldo, though, has also spoken about his desire to reach the 1000-goal mark for club and country. Hence, we could perhaps see him in action for a couple more years before he hangs up his boots.