“Not playing as a striker”, “Rangnick ball” - Fans confused about Cristiano Ronaldo after Jhon Duran starts in Al-Nassr line-up vs Al Wasl

Fans were confused about Cristiano Ronaldo's position after new Al-Nassr signee Jhon Duran was named in their starting XI against Al Wasl. The AFC Champions League match took place at Al-Awwal Park on Monday.

Al-Nassr head coach Stefano Pioli put Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing and Duran on the right in a 4-4-2 formation. The Portuguese icon's usual position is as the sole striker in the Knights of Najd squad.

Jhon Duran arrived at the Riyadh-based club from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee at the end of January. He made his debut for Al-Nassr in their seventh AFC Champions League match of the season on Monday.

Fans posted on social media wrote about Cristiano Ronaldo's altered position in Al-Nassr's starting line-up against Al Wasl following Jhon Duran's signing. Here are some of the reactions from X:

One fan wrote:

"Ronaldo not playing as a striker 😀💪🏼"

Another added:

"4-2-2-2 ? Rangnick ball 😁😅"

"Ronaldo as a winger?" chimed in another fan.

One account posted:

"4 forwards with 2 cdm? Or is it a 4-4-2"

Another tweeted:

"Ronaldo on the left? we rolling back the years"

"Ronaldo on the #left wing would hit like crack but we have to stick to the striker gimmick ffs," posted another.

One user wrote:

"Wait so ronaldo is gonna play as left wing"

While another wrote:

"So 4-4-2 or what?"

While the transfer fee was not officially announced, several reports suggested that Jhon Duran signed for Al-Nassr for about €77 million plus add-ons. He became Aston Villa's second-highest transfer after Jack Grealish’s move to Manchester City in 2021.

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Jhon Duran hails Cristiano Ronaldo as the "most important name in the entire history of the game" after Al-Nassr transfer

Jhon Duran heaped praise on his new club teammate Cristiano Ronaldo after signing for Al-Nassr in the January transfer window. In an interview with DAZN following his move, he expressed his excitement about sharing the pitch alongside the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Duran said (via GOAL):

"I'm really happy to play with and learn from the best player in the world. He's the best sportsperson in the world. I think he's the best footballer."

The Colombian star spoke about how he looks forward to improving and learning from Cristiano Ronaldo and said:

“I’m really happy that I can learn from him and have this chance in my career to work with such a huge star. I hope that I can see some action soon and learn everything that he can teach me and follow in his footsteps, which is the most important thing.”

"I think there are many stars from Europe who were at big teams in Europe who are now here. There’s [ex-Liverpool star Roberto] Firmino and many other big names. There’s the biggest name and I’ll be working with him. He’s the most important name in the league and in football, in the entire history of the game,” added Duran.

Cristiano Ronaldo has registered 21 goals and four assists in 24 appearances across competitions for Al-Nassr this season, adding up to 921 career goals.