No Injuries, Yet No Cristiano Ronaldo: Why Star Player Will Miss Al Nassr's Match Against Al Riyadh?

Al Nassr will reportedly not have their forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, available for their clash against Al Riyadh on February 2, 2026. Fabrizio Romano reported earlier today that Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in Al Nassr's upcoming match. The Italian shared that his absence is not because of any injury or workload management.

Meanwhile, the local reports suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo will be rested due to workload management, as his side is set to face Al Ittihad in a key Saudi Pro League match on February 6, 2026. Further local reports also suggested that the player suffered a muscle strain during training prior to the match.

However, a report from Portuguese newspaper A Bola dismissed the claims made by local reports and revealed what could allegedly be the real reason why Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature for Al Nassr.

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Why Cristiano Ronaldo Won't Feature Against Al Riyadh?

Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported that Cristiano Ronaldo decided not to play against Al Riyadh on his own accord. According to the outlet, Ronaldo will be sitting the game out as a protest against his club's owner, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly believes that the PIF is not investing enough in Al Nassr as compared to other Saudi clubs it owns, namely Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, and Al Hilal. Notably, Al Nassr made only one signing, Iraqi midfielder Haydeer Abdulkareem, in this transfer window. Meanwhile, Al Hilal signed Rennes forward Kader Meite and also brought in former Arsenal defender Pablo Mari from Fiorentina.

Ronaldo's absence in the match against Al Riyadh will be a major blow for Al Nassr, who are currently second in the league table with 43 points, just three points behind league leaders Al Hilal.

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Cristiano Ronaldo's Season So Far

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 17 goals in 18 matches so far this season. The player is just 39 goals away from breaking the 1,000-goal barrier and would be hoping to complete that by the end of this season.