Ronaldo scores on his return after Al-Nassr strike

Cristiano Ronaldo scored just 18 minutes into his Al-Nassr return after ending his three-match strike over his frustrations at the club’s management.

The Portuguese icon, who turned 41 this month, put his side 1-0 up away at Al-Fateh in a crucial game in the Saudi Pro League title race.

Al-Nassr went into the match sat in third place and four points behind Al-Hilal, who added Karim Benzema to their ranks in the recent transfer window. 

But Ronaldo showed no nerves as he volleyed home a Sadio Mane cross and dashed to the corner to carry out his trademark ‘Siu’ celebration, which the stadium lapped up.  

The goal edged him onto 962 career goals, just 38 away from his target of 1,000. He is still scoring at an alarming rate, having banged in 19 in 23 matches this season. 

His strike – despite being on £488,000 per day – came as he was reportedly furious at Al-Nassr’s lack of spending on transfers compared to their rivals. 

Title rivals Al-Hilal have a net spend £180million higher than that of his own team since the 2022-23 season, when he arrived.