Ronaldo's miserable summer continues - Al-Nassr ace axed by Postecoglou

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FT Desk

Cristiano Ronaldo's summer shows no signs of improving after he was hauled off at half-time in a recent Al-Nassr fixture.

The Portuguese superstar played in his sixth World Cup during the summer and contributed three goals but it was a disappointing campaign overall for the nation as they were eliminated at the Round of 16 by Spain.

Two of his goals came in a comfortable victory versus Uzbekistan and his overall contributions were questioned by many. At 41, he simply couldn't provide a vibrant focal point up top and head coach Roberto Martinez was criticised for continually starting him at the tournament.

It doesn't look like his club career is going much better, either.

He made his first start for Al-Nassr since the World Cup on Tuesday but the defending Saudi Pro League champions found themselves 2-0 down at half-time against Al-Ettifaq after losing goalkeeper Bento to a red card.

لحظة خروج رونالدو بعد نهاية الشوط الأول 🟡🎥#الاتفاق_النصر | #دوري_روشن_السعودي pic.twitter.com/nee7dWSVd4

— رياضة ثمانية (@thmanyahsports) August 25, 2026

Upon leaving the pitch at the break, Ronaldo fumed as he threw his captain's armband off and gesticulated into the air in frustration.

Things would get worse for him as new head coach Ange Postecoglou took him off, looking to reshape the team as they were down to 10 men.

It worked, too, as without Ronaldo up top, Al-Nassr completed a remarkable comeback to win 3-2, with a strike from Abdulelah Al-Amri and a double from Sadio Mane sealing the three points.

Postecoglou explained his reasoning for taking Ronaldo off following the win.

"With Cristiano, we know he hasn't played a lot of football," the Australian said.

"So I think with 10 men to have him out there after 45 minutes, he did a great job for us in the first half. But we needed a different approach in the second half and I try and help them, but it's really the players.

"The players are the ones who out there have the belief and the courage to still play.

"You can see that in this humidity, how hard it is to run and keep having an effort and I thought the players were outstanding."

Al-Nassr hold a 100% win record so far in competitive matches under Postecoglou and two out of the three league victories came without Ronaldo starting.

Even though CR7 may be hurting in a professional capacity, he is flourishing in his personal life as he recently got married to his partner of 10 years, Georgina Rodriguez.