Cristiano Ronaldo shows class with surprise private message to Al-Nassr teammate Abdulrahman Ghareeb for ‘wonderful’ goal against Oman: Reports

Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly sent a surprise private message to Al-Nassr teammate Abdulrahman Ghareeb for his brilliant strike for Saudi Arabia in the AFC Asian Cup.

Saudi Arabia commenced their Asian Cup campaign with a 2-1 win over Oman. They completed a dramatic comeback after going a goal down in the first half.

Three minutes after his introduction in the 75th minute, Ghareeb danced his way through multiple challenges and slotted the ball into the net to equalize for his side. Saudi Arabia went on to find a winner in injury time (90+6') through Ali Albulayhi.

After the result, BBC journalist Mohamed Alkoud claimed that Ronaldo sent a private message to Ghareeb, congratulating him on his goal. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Abdul Rahman Gharib, the Saudi national team player, was surprised by a private message on his phone from his captain in the Al-Nassr team, Cristiano Ronaldo, congratulating him on the “wonderful” goal he scored against the Oman national team in the Asian Cup, and assuring him that he expects more from him in the upcoming matches."

The duo have shared the pitch 42 times for Al-Nassr, managing six joint goal contributions. Ghareeb will reunite with Ronaldo following his country's Asian Cup campaign.

---

Rio Ferdinand suggests Karim Benzema could perform Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo's role at Old Trafford

Cristiano Ronaldo (via Getty Images)

Rio Ferdinand suggested that Karim Benzema's reported arrival at Manchester United would help summer signing Rasmus Hojlund. Benzema currently plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad and has reportedly fallen into trouble for not reporting for training on time (via Goal).

The former defender believes young strikers need experienced heads to look up to. He cited former Manchester United star Danny Welbeck's example when the latter had the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to learn from while breaking into the first team.

Ferdinand said on his podcast (via Goal):

"Listen, Benzema… how can you say no? How can you say no to that signing Hojlund needs that somebody to look and learn from. I remember when we had Danny Welbeck coming into the first-team and he’s looking up to Cristiano, [Wayne] Rooney, [Carlos] Tevez and those guys."

Hojlund has netted just twice in 16 Premier League appearances since joining Old Trafford last summer for a reported €73.9 million. He could learn a fair bit from Benzema, who has notched up 432 club career goals.