Pundit provides update on Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Al Nassr, says Lionel Messi taunts in Saudi stadiums are 'really irking him'
Pundit Ben Jacobs believes Cristiano Ronaldo will not leave Al Nassr before the end of his contract in the summer of 2025. Jacobs also suggested that Saudi fans taunting the Portuguese superstar with Lionel Messi's name might be bothering him.
Things have not gone so well for Ronaldo lately. He is expected to miss a few games after being sent off during Al Nassr's 2-1 loss against Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final on April 8.
This is the fifth title that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will miss out on during his stint with Al Nassr and has yet to celebrate any major trophies despite his impressive scoring numbers.
"I think he’ll do another season. I think Ronaldo still feels that he’s the one capitalising this. So there’s a personal aspect that feeds into maybe his ego that he started all of this. And every time he does anything wrong, opposition fans are chanting the name 'Leo Messi'. And that juxtaposition of Messi winning the World cup, Ronaldo being in Saudi Arabia, I think is really irking him," Jacobs said in an interview with talkSPORT, via Goal.com.
This season, Ronaldo has appeared in 37 games across competitions, scoring 36 goals and giving 12 assists.
Cristiano Ronaldo appears to be 'frustrated' amid Al Nassr struggles, says pundit
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr continue to struggle this season which has frustrated the Portuguese megastar, per pundit Ben Jacobs. This seemingly led to the red card in the game against Al Hilal.
"By the same token, he’s frustrated. Al Nassr are second, they're out of the Saudi Super Cup, he got sent off late in a game against Al Hilal. I expect him to do one more season, but quite clearly, there's aspects out there now that are irritating Ronaldo. Particularly, and oddly at this stage of his career, when people are chanting the name Lionel Messi at him," Jacobs said, via Goal.com.
At the age of 39, Ronaldo has accomplished everything in his career. He will apparently have one final international run with Portugal in the UEFA Euro this summer and could consider retirement if he fails to win major trophies with Al Nassr.