The Portuguese striker, always very committed, did not hide his frustration despite his goal, allowing his team to continue their flawless start to the 2025-2026 season.
Ronaldo’s anger captured by the cameras
The incident happened after halftime, when the score was still 0-0. Visibly frustrated that the referee had stopped a promising attack from Al-Nassr, Ronaldo approached the official on his way back to the locker room and sent him a scathing message, full of irony, as reported by The Sun.
Ronaldo was heard saying: “ Well done, well done. Keep it up, you’re playing a good game – a very good game.”
Ronaldo is chasing the dream, once considered impossible, of reaching 1,000 career goals, and he delivered at the crucial moment. A penalty was obtained after a foul on João Félix, pushed in the back while trying to recover the ball following a blocked strike from Ronaldo. This action presented the captain with the perfect opportunity to seal the victory. Ronaldo stepped forward to convert the penalty and, facing his compatriot Luis Maximiano in goal, he did not tremble. His precise and low shot placed the ball in the side net, thus scoring his 953rd career goal, and his 83rd in the Saudi Pro League since his arrival at Al-Nassr at the start of 2023.
Al-Nassr, dominant, extends his perfect start to the season.
Ronaldo’s penalty doubled Al-Nassr’s advantage, after Angelo Gabriel opened the scoring just two minutes into the second half. Neom was already struggling to keep pace and collapsed when Luciano Rodríguez was sent off for a dangerous elbow midway through the second half. This red card ended their resistance and Al-Nassr easily clinched their eighth consecutive league victory. Since arriving in Riyadh, Ronaldo has scored 35 goals in his first full season, followed by 25 last season, and is on course to surpass both of those totals in his third season. Only Félix has done better than him this season, the 25-year-old scoring a late goal against Neom, his tenth of the season.
