Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr lost in yet another final. They fell 4-1 short against league rivals Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium on Saturday, August 17. Fans were left baffled as the Al-Hilal scored four goals within a span of 17 minutes to take the game away from Ronaldo's side.
The frustration of fans seems to have reached its peak as they urged the Portuguese veteran to leave the Saudi outfit. Some even urged him to join his boyhood club Sporting CP for 'one last dance.' Some of their most popular comments on X (formerly Twitter) are as follows:
"There's still time Cristiano," urged one Ronaldo fan on X.
"ONE LAST DANCE PLEASE, @Cristiano," agreed another.
"@Cristiano Sporting is calling," declared another Ronaldo fan on X.
One fan even explained why Ronaldo needs to return to Sporting CP and provide a grand finish to his legendary career. They commented:
"Cristiano Ronaldo is really making a mockery of his legendary career at 39yo by getting beatdown in the Saudi league. He needs to go back where it all started at Sporting and peacefully retire in a year or 2. This just ain't it."
"Just go to Sporting and leave that shity nassr club @Cristiano please!!" agreed another.
"If I was Ronaldo I’ll drop a salary down to 70% to play mins for sporting and your mum watching you from the stands every game," inferred another individual on X.
Some of the other reactions were as follows:
"Facts go back to Europe," commented one on X.
"To be fair, sporting doesn't need cristiano because of gyokeres," argued another.
"Why did he not go to sporting after leaving united would've been perfecttt," inferred someone on X.
Cristiano Ronaldo's career at Sporting CP in numbers
Cristiano Ronaldo played his first official game for Sporting CP at just 17 against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League qualifying round. His debut league game came against Braga on October 7, 2002. However, he impressed everyone in a game against Moreirense, scoring two goals in the club's 3-0 win.
Ronaldo's initial performances attracted the eyes of several big clubs in Europe and he was offered to Liverpool's Gerard Houllier and Barcelona's Joan Laporta. French clubs Lyon, Auxerre, and Italian giants Juventus were also interested in the prodigy, but none of the deals worked. Arsenal's Arsene Wenger even met Ronaldo to talk about a transfer but that also failed.
Finally, Sir Alex Ferguson signed Cristiano Ronaldo for £12.24 million for Manchester United in 2003. It came after he was impressed by the forward's display at the Estádio José Alvalade where Sporting CP defeated United 3-1.
In all, Cristiano Ronaldo played just 31 games for the Portuguese club, recording five goals and six assists.