Cristiano Ronaldo set to miss second match and ‘threatens to leave Al Nassr’ in June | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo is continuing his strike at Al-Nassr with the Manchester United and Real Madrid legend now threatening to leave, according to reports.

The Portugal international is far from pleased with their lack of ambition in the transfer market and feels the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is favouring other clubs.

Al-Nassr have only signed 21-year-old Iraqi centre-back Hayer Abdulkareem in the winter transfer window, while Ronaldo is reportedly upset that Al-Hilal are being able to sign Karim Benzema and other big-money deals.

Explaining Ronaldo’s issue with PIF on Tuesday, journalist Ben Jacobs told talkSPORT: “Cristiano Ronaldo is upset with the PIF strategy in particular.

“And made a statement by not making himself available for Al Nassr’s win over Al Riyadh earlier.

“Now some in Saudi allege that Ronaldo didn’t want Karim Benzema, former teammate, to go to Al Hilal.

“And instead felt it would be better for Saudi football for him to stay at Al Ittihad, or even join Al Nassr.

“Others say that this is a problem about central funding and how it is allocated specifically.

“So Ronaldo’s point, and Al Nassr’s fans have been protesting as well, is why Al Hilal were given so much money to spent before the Club World Cup when Al Nassr’s portion of the pie was a little bit smaller.

“But what’s interesting, is whether it’s Benzema specific, or whether there is a broader disagreement over strategy and ultimately funding, Ronaldo hasn’t been backed.

“He’s expected to be fined, he’s likely to be punished for not making himself available for selection.”

Ronaldo was already absent from their match against Al Riyadh on Monday and now looks set to skip their game versus Al-Ittihad on Friday too.

The report explains: ‘Among other points, Ronaldo made it clear behind the scenes that his return depends on the prompt reactivation of powers by the Al Nassr management and, naturally, that the interference they suffered in the recently closed transfer window does not happen again in the middle of the year.

‘In recent months, Portuguese officials Simão Coutinho (sporting director) and José Semedo (CEO) were suspended from their positions by the PIF (Portuguese Football Federation), which angered Cristiano Ronaldo and hindered the arrival of high-profile reinforcements for his compatriot Jorge Jesus . Equally important, there was a significant cut in the club’s expenses.’

Despite interest from around Europe and Major League Soccer, Ronaldo reckons it ‘would be detrimental to his final preparations for the World Cup’ if he left now.

But he has ‘threatened to leave’ in June with the report also confirming his release clause of €50m, which some outlets have claimed he’s willing to pay himself.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy described Ronaldo’s choice to go on strike as “self-indulgent nonsense” and insisted he should dig into his own savings to help out the club.

Murphy said on talkSPORT: “Maybe Ronaldo could give some of his earnings to the club to then help them get more players.

“I’ve never heard of something so ridiculous in all my life, self-indulgent nonsense.”

Before Murphy added: “It is absolutely bizarre when you consider the earning capacity of Cristiano and Benzema.

“For either of them to be disillusioned, upset about the way their clubs are run, to put it mildly, is almost unthinkable.”