Cristiano Ronaldo loses his temper and makes obscene gestures towards Al Nassr teammates during Saudi Super Cup final | Football News
August 18, 2024, 1:10 p.m. IST
During the Saudi Super Cup final, Ronaldo made an obscene gesture towards his teammates that sparked controversy and earned him strong reactions on social media.
Cristiano Ronaldo lost his nerve after his team suffered another crushing defeat to rivals Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored the first goal in the top-flight clash but his team lost 4-1 to Al Hilal. Ronaldo was left frustrated as his team conceded four goals in 17 minutes and lost the match.
Following Malcom’s goal in the 71st minute, Ronaldo expressed his disappointment towards his teammates. He angrily raised his arms and made a sleeping gesture towards his teammates after they loosened their grip on the game in the second half. He also made an obscene gesture which sparked controversy as he faced backlash on social media.
Ronaldo finished last season in Saudi Arabia without a trophy despite being the league’s top scorer. With 35 goals last season, he broke the record for most goals in a season in the Saudi Pro League, beating former Al Nassr star Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in the 2019 season. However, his team, Al-Nassr, finished second in the league, 14 points behind local rivals Al-Hilal.
Ronaldo Al Nassr scored his only goal on Saturday a minute from the end of the first half. He gave his team a half-time lead, but things simply went downhill for him and his team in the second half, as they conceded four goals in the second half.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic equalised with a close-range strike in the 55th minute and Mitrović scored two more goals in six minutes. Brazilian winger Malcom scored Al-Hilal’s fourth goal to give the league champions their second consecutive Super Cup victory.
“We showed how good we are in the second half,” said Mitrović. “We had a few problems in the first half and then changed things around in the second half. We stayed calm and it feels good to win a trophy right at the start of the season.”
Al-Hilal have dominated the sport in Saudi Arabia in recent years despite the absence of their star signing Neymar, who has been out since October with a knee injury. The team will begin its championship defense against Al-Okhdood next Saturday.
