Cristiano Ronaldo has fallen out with the powers-that-be behind his Saudi club side, Al-Nassr, for not spending enough on new signings - while pocketing almost £500,000-a-day in the process
Cristiano Ronaldo didn't play for Al Nassr on Monday
Cristiano Ronaldo didn't play for Al Nassr on Monday(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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Cristiano Ronaldo is used to getting what he wants.
He persuaded Sir Alex Ferguson to sell him to Real Madrid. He engineered a lucrative move back to Manchester United when he'd had enough of being at Juventus, with Fergie sealing the deal, after ringing him to encourage the return of the 'prodigal son'.
Ronaldo got United to terminate his contract when he decided he couldn't be part of a squad managed by Erik ten Hag. And he then got the mind-boggling contract he wanted in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, which went on to make him football's first billionaire.
Where has it all gone wrong for Ronaldo, eh? Well, in a break from the status quo, Ronaldo has not got something he wants.
And the end result is for him to throw his toys out of the pram. He has gone on strike. He refused to play in Al-Nassr's game at Al-Riyadh on Monday night, because he's furious with his club's lack of spending on transfers.
What tipped him over the edge was seeing Karim Benzema join Al-Hilal from Al-Ittihad.
All three clubs are owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Ronaldo's beef is that Al-Hilal have been allowed to make such a significant signing, when leading the Pro-League by a single point over Ronaldo's Al-Nassr. It's been reported Ronaldo is seething Al-Hilal have been allowed to spend £180m more than his club since the start of 2022.
Ronaldo has still to win a league title in Saudi since arriving there. So in normal circumstances, he might have a point.
But considering Al-Nassr are spending an astonishing £488,000-a-day on having Ronaldo in the team, these are not normal circumstances. The Portuguese's lack of self-awareness is almost as staggering as his wage packet.
Cristiano Ronaldo has earned mega-money in the twilight of his career thanks to Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo has earned mega-money in the twilight of his career thanks to Saudi Arabia(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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Perhaps Al-Nassr could invest more on new signings if Ronaldo wasn't bleeding them dry in the first place.
Despite him being a freak of nature, Ronaldo is now 40, but remains the highest paid footballer on the planet. To put his wages into perspective, it takes Erling Haaland almost a week to earn what Ronaldo does in a 24 hours. Bless him.
Al-Nassr's manager Jorge Jesus has been banned from speaking to the media. Ronaldo's one-man protest has caused huge tensions in Saudi football. A sport which is now discovering there can be a price to pay for the gluttonous approach to luring some of the game's biggest names to the mega-rich Kingdom.
Yet if Ronaldo has gone on strike, he is in breach of his contract. The PIF might have the right to rip it up. Send Ronaldo packing, like United did second time around, and invest that cash in someone else instead. Like Mo Salah, perhaps, who is expected to leave Liverpool this summer.
Ronaldo, let's not forget, has hinted he might decide to finish his career elsewhere, like a club in Europe. Ronaldo's petulance is nothing new.
And it could spell the end of a relationship which took 'sportswashing' to a whole new level.