Former Saudi star: Al-Nassr will lose if Ronaldo starts! | Goal.com

Published on 22 Aug 2026 | Reading time: 1 minute

Cristiano Ronaldo found the net against Al-Riyadh yesterday, Friday, in the second round of the Roshn Saudi Professional League. Yet the Al-Nassr captain still copped fresh criticism from one of the league's former stars.

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Introduced as a substitute after an hour, the Portugal forward scored in a 4-0 win that sent Al-Nassr top of the standings.

Ahmed Ateef, the former Saudi national team star, was unimpressed. Speaking on the programme "Doreena Ghair", he said: "It is only natural that Ronaldo scored after coming on because the match was almost over, and the coach should not field him as a starter in the upcoming matches."

He added: "Ronaldo's technical and physical level has declined a great deal, and starting him, especially in the big matches against Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Qadsiah, will cause Al-Nassr to lose."

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The theme continued: "Against strong clubs Al-Nassr needs to press and close down space, and these are things Ronaldo can no longer do, so Al-Alami plays with just 10 players."

Ateef believes Ronaldo can start against clubs battling relegation or in mid-table. Against the big teams, though, he will cause great harm to Al-Nassr.

His verdict came with a caveat: "My comments about Ronaldo are purely technical and I do not mean to disparage him, but this is the truth, and I believe 70% of Al-Nassr fans agree with me."

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