Ronaldo Faces Criticism After Al-Nassr's AFC Champions League Loss

The noise around Cristiano Ronaldo has not died down since Al-Nassr’s bruising 4-0 collapse against Al-Ain in the opening round of the AFC Champions League Elite. If anything, it has grown louder, sharper, more unforgiving.

Al-Nassr were second-best from the first whistle. Outplayed, outworked, outthought. In the aftermath, the spotlight, as always, swung to their captain. This time, though, much of it was harshly unforgiving.

Sections of Al-Nassr’s own support turned on Ronaldo, frustrated that their star man failed to impose himself on a night when the Saudi side needed leadership and cutting edge. Pundits piled in as well, accusing the Portuguese forward of coming up short on the big stage against the UAE club.

Into that storm stepped Saud Al-Sarami, the former Al-Nassr spokesman, who chose not to soften his words. He questioned whether Ronaldo still has a future at the club and openly raised the idea of a departure in the upcoming winter transfer window.

“Ronaldo will not play any non-technical role with Al-Nassr, and I do not rule out that he may leave the club in the winter Mercato, as happened with Karim Benzema previously, and this will happen entirely of his own accord.”

Then he went even stronger. In his view, Ronaldo is no longer part of the solution.

“Ronaldo has become a spent card and is unable to provide anything with Al-Nassr, and he must leave,” Al-Sarami declared, using language that leaves little room for nuance. For him, the defeat to Al-Ain did not just expose a bad night; it exposed structural problems that the club can no longer ignore.

Al-Sarami argued that moving on from Ronaldo could actually free Al-Nassr to reshape key areas of the squad. He pointed directly at midfield as the department most in need of reinforcement, insisting the club must reorder its priorities after the flaws highlighted so brutally in the 4-0 loss.

The timing of his comments only intensifies the debate. Al-Nassr are still reeling from the manner of the defeat, dealing with criticism at home and abroad, and the captain has become the central figure in that wider inquest.

For now, though, Al-Sarami’s forecast of a January exit remains exactly that: his personal expectation. Al-Nassr’s hierarchy has not issued any indication that Ronaldo is on his way out, nor have they signalled a change in his role at the club.

The questions, however, are out in the open. After a night like Al-Ain, they will not disappear quickly.