What if Cristiano Ronaldo ultimately wasn’t ready to do anything to add to his incredible career goal tally? The scene that took place Monday evening in the Asian Champions League is rare enough to be highlighted. During a group match played between Al-Nassr and Persépolis FC (Iran), the Portuguese star only needed two minutes to stand out. First blocked by a defender in the Iranian area, the former Manchester United striker collapsed immediately after supposed contact with an opponent tackling him.
The referee pointed to the penalty spot without hesitation, and frankly, looking at the live footage, he didn’t seem to have anything in particular to complain about. Except that “CR7” quickly got up and called out to the referee… to contest this decision. In the images, we see him insisting that this situation does not deserve a penalty, which would have been 99.99% for his personal stats sheet. The Chinese official Ma Ning still called on the VAR images before complying with the fair play gesture of his majesty of the Saudi Pro League Cristiano Ronaldo.
Uncertain for the clash at leader Al-Hilal on Friday
This chivalrous moment, hailed by the Iranian club, had consequences, since the match between Al-Nassr and Persepolis ended in a draw (0-0). A result still synonymous with qualification for the round of 16 of the Asian Champions League for the Saudi club. Note that the Portuguese international left the pitch ten minutes from time due to an injury.
Four days before a clash at Al-Hilal, between the two leading teams in the Saudi Pro League, his coach Luis Castro said he did not yet know the seriousness of this injury, and the possible withdrawal of his star player. But before this hard blow, he presented himself with an image which will undoubtedly remain in the memories.