Cristiano Ronaldo left out again by Saudi Pro League giants

Saudi Pro League top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was rested for a second consecutive match as Al-Nassr hosted Al-Taawoun on Friday.

Real Madrid all-time top scorer Ronaldo sat out the game alongside defenders Mohamed Simakan and Aymeric Laporte as manager Stefano Pioli rotated his team and left out the 23-goal leading marksman in the division.

Ronaldo sent his team-mates a public show of support less than an hour before kick-off through his Instagram account, which is the most followed on the social media platform.

🗒 || Starting lineup,@AlNassrFC vs #AlTaawoun pic.twitter.com/qbaSwmUBuW

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) May 16, 2025

Why isn’t Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Al Nassr?

Al-Nassr have little to play for, with leaders Al-Ittihad beyond their reach and their AFC Champions League campaign ending courtesy of a 3-2 home loss against J League strugglers Kawasaki in the semi-finals on April 30.

Ronaldo was rested before the game against Kawasaki but did not directly contribute to a goal during that match or in Al-Nassr’s subsequent 3-2 home defeat against Al-Ittihad.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo missed Al-Nassr’s 9-0 win at Al-Akhdoud on Monday because of a “lack of readiness”, according to Al-Riyadh.

The newspaper also reported that former Manchester City regular Laporte, who joined Al-Nassr from the Cityzens for £23.6 million in August 2023, has been training individually because of “tensions” with Pioli and is considering several offers from clubs including Marseille, who sealed Champions League qualification and at least a top-three place in France on Saturday.

Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun

Jhon Duran – signed from Aston Villa for £65m in January – and two-time African Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane joined Saudi Arabia winger Ayman Yahya as Pioli’s chosen starting attackers against Al Taawoun, who will finish between seventh and ninth.

Al-Taawoun arrived on a run of one win in six games in all competitions, including two consecutive defeats in the top flight.

Fourth last season, The Wolves had gone almost four hours without scoring across their losses to Al-Ahli and Al-Qadisiyah.

Cristiano Ronaldo goals

Ronaldo has gone more than three-and-a-half hours without a league goal but is still the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League with 23, followed by Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema – Madrid’s second-highest scorer of all time – on 21.

Al-Shabab’s Abderrazak Hamdallah also has 21, while Ivan Toney has 20 for Al-Ahli, the club the England forward joined from Brentford for £40m in August.

Now 40, Ronaldo’s only league win since triumphing in LaLiga with Madrid in 2017 is the 2019/20 Italian title with Juventus.

Ronaldo weekly salary

Ronaldo was said to have surpassed $1 billion (£771m) in career earnings two years before becoming the most high-profile footballer to move to Saudi Arabia in December 2022 following his departure from United.

His deal, which runs until the end of the 2024/25 season, is widely reported to be worth £14.75m a month or £3.4m per week.

How much does Ronaldo make a year?

Ronaldo’s annual salary is said to be £177m per year, made up of £62m for his football salary, supplemented by commercial bonuses.

The player known as CR7 has a variety of lucrative sponsorship deals, with his recent endorsements including Whoop, video game UFL and cryptocurrency exchange Binance.