Cristiano Ronaldo returned to training on Wednesday and posted a picture of it, but it is most likely a bluff amid his standoff with Al Nassr. The club, however, could try poaching a big Manchester United player to appease him.
Cristiano Ronaldo is most likely bluffing with a picture from the training session on Wednesday (4 February), which, for many, hinted that he is ready to give up on his strike and return to Al Nassr’s playing XI. Meanwhile, the club is ready to acquire a big player from Manchester United to placate the aggrieved Ronaldo.
The 40-year-old Ronaldo, who is on a whopping $230 million a year contract at the Saudi Pro League club, shocked the footballing world on Monday
when he refused to play for Al Nassr against Al Riyadh, protesting Al Hilal’s signing of his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema.
Is Ronaldo still training alone at Al Nassr?
One of the most competitive players in the world, Ronaldo, isn’t happy that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) owned Al Hilal were able to make major signings in the January transfer window, while Al Nassr have only signed low-profile Haydeer Abdulkareem. Al Hilal had also signed Pablo Mari, Rayan Al-Dossary, Sultan Mandash, Murad Al-Hawsawi and Mohamed Kader Meite last month.
Enraged by the lack of investments from Al Nassr, with whom Ronaldo is yet to win a trophy, the Portuguese international sat out of the match against Al Riyadh and there’s a possibility he may also miss the Al Ittihad on Friday, reported ESPN.
This is in contrast to what fans felt after Ronaldo posted a picture of himself resuming training.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) February 4, 2026
Before the Al Riyadh game, Ronaldo trained alone, and it’s quite possible he is still training alone. The official handle of Al Nassr did not post any pictures of Ronaldo from the training. The training pictures on the club’s handle only included pictures of coach Jorge Jesus and other players.
Back on the pitch 🔁 pic.twitter.com/4Dy8n0iUed
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) February 4, 2026
It only indicates that the standoff between Ronaldo and Al Nassr is not going to die down soon. According to ESPN, if things don’t change at the club soon, Ronaldo could ask to leave the club in June. He has offers from Europe and the USA, but his first preference is to stay in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo has a contract till 2027, but it also includes a $59 million release clause.
Besides wanting Al Nassr to invest heavily in the squad, Ronaldo also hopes the club will soon reinstate sporting director Simão Coutinho and CEO José Semedo, both of whom were suspended recently by PIF.
Al Nassr to sign Bruno Fernandes from Man United?
Meanwhile, it has emerged that PIF, which also co-owns Al Nassr, had no role in AL Hilal signing Benzema; rather, the big-money transfer moves were funded by Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, a minority co-owner and billionaire businessman.
Another factor that can persuade Ronaldo to continue at Al Nassr is that the club and PIF have promised significant transfer signings next summer, including a possible move for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, who also plays for Portugal.
Al Nassr are currently one point behind Al Hilal (47) in the Saudi Pro League standings with 15 matches still to go.
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