Ronaldo missed out on the championship once again, and the Portuguese superstar broke down in tears when the match ended.
Once again, Al Hilal cast a shadow over Cristiano Ronaldo in the recent King’s Cup final. Despite Neymar not playing a single minute and the team being reduced to 9 men, the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Bounou secured the victory for Al Hilal (drawing 1-1 after 120 minutes, winning 5-4 in the penalty shootout). This marks the fourth consecutive official match where Al Nassr failed to defeat their arch-rivals.
It’s worth mentioning that luck favored Al Hilal in this match. Al Nassr didn’t perform poorly, creating numerous chances. According to statistics, Ronaldo and his teammates had a total of 24 shots but only managed to score once, with Yahya’s header in the 88th minute.
Meanwhile, CR7 was denied a sensational goal by the woodwork, which was extremely unfortunate. In the 46th minute, from Otavio’s cross, Ronaldo executed a lightning-fast header. The ball was so fast that the goalkeeper Bounou couldn’t react in time, only to find it hit the post. If that had been a goal, the situation would have been very different for Al Nassr.
After the penalty shootout ended, the Portuguese superstar was in tears on the pitch due to regret. Even when being taken to the sidelines, Ronaldo couldn’t hold back his tears. At the age of 39, CR7 still played the full 120 minutes and successfully executed his penalty kicks. To achieve that, Ronaldo needed not only extraordinary physicality but also a fighting spirit beyond measure.
The last time Ronaldo shed tears was at the 2022 World Cup when the Portuguese national team was eliminated in the quarter-finals. The superstar also cried heavily in the tunnel. During EURO 2016, Ronaldo also teared up when he couldn’t continue playing in the final match. Later, he cried again when Portugal won the championship. Unfortunately, this time was different.
Thus, Cristiano Ronaldo concludes the 2023/24 season with Al Nassr with only one title, the Arab Club Champions Cup achieved in August 2023. After that, they were defeated by Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League, the Saudi Super Cup, and most recently, the Saudi King’s Cup.
Additionally, Ronaldo and his teammates were also eliminated from the AFC Champions League by Al Ain, who went on to become champions. Hopefully, the Portuguese superstar will have better luck at EURO 2024. This could be CR7’s last major tournament representing his national team.
