Cristiano Ronaldo shares touching moments with his son after scoring in Al-Nassr’s 3-0 victory over Al-Ettifaq
Cristiano Ronaldo shared a touching moment with his son Cristiano Jr during Al-Nassr’s victory over Al-Ettifaq on Friday, September 20. The Portuguese icon led the line for the Knights of Najd in Stefan Pioli's first game as manager in the Saudi Pro League.
It took Ronaldo 33 minutes to register the first goal of the Italian manager’s regime. The five-time Ballon d’Or gave his side the lead from the penalty spot and wrapped his celebration with a touching moment with his son who was in the stands.
After netting the opener, Ronaldo ran to the stands and held up three fingers in the direction of his son Cristiano Jr.. According to ESPN, the gesture was to signify that both father and son had together scored a hat-trick on the same day.
Cristiano Jr. reportedly bagged a brace earlier in the day for Al-Nassr’s youth side. The 14-year-old plays for the club’s U-15. He scored twice in a 4-0 victory over Al Qadsiah a few hours before watching his father take to the pitch. The youngster has shown glimpses of being a decent footballer like his father. However, it is left to be seen if he would follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a professional.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to steer Al-Nassr to glory this season under new manager Pioli. The Knights of Najd have been second-best to Al-Hilal for the past couple of seasons. They finished as runner-up in both the league and Kings cups to their rivals last term.
Cristiano Ronaldo sends 11-word message after guiding Al-Nassr to victory over Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq
After leading the Knights of Najd to their second league victory of the season, Cristiano Ronaldo took to social media to celebrate the side’s first win under manager Stefano Pioli. The 39-year-old saluted his teammates and dedicated the victory to the fans, writing:
"Great team effort! Big win tonight – this one’s for the fans!"
Al-Nassr have suffered a slow start to the new season, and a poor run of results led to the sacking of former manager Luis Castro. They have managed to win just two of four league games. The Knights of Najd were also held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Shorta in their AFC Champions League opening game.
The onus is now on Pioli to turn around the club’s fortune. The Italian manager most notably led AC Milan to Serie A glory in 2022.