Cristiano Ronaldo’s wait for his Al Nassr debut will continue after he was left out of the team’s matchday squad to face Al Tai on Friday.
The Portugal international still has to serve a two-match ban handed down by the FA for knocking the phone out of an Everton fan’s hand in April, but there were suggestions Al Nassr was ready to play Ronaldo anyway.
Questions were later raised about the limit of foreign players in Al Nassra’s squad, with Ronaldo believing the team would exceed the limit.
Still, the Saudi Pro League continued to promote Friday’s meeting with Al Tai, even confirming that the game will be available to watch worldwide for free on Twitter, with commentary in both English and Portuguese. Without a global TV deal, this would be the only chance many fans around the world would have to watch Al Nassr in action.
However, Ronaldo did not make it into the lineup on the day of the match.
The reason for Ronaldo’s absence has not been confirmed, although it is almost certain to be related to the two legal issues mentioned above.
Al Nassr will be next in action against Al Shabab on Saturday, with Ronaldo suspended to keep him out as well.
It means his first official appearance could come against Ettifaq on January 22, although there may be a chance for Ronaldo to play even sooner with Lionel Messi’s PSG friendly coming up.
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