Football fans in India were in a state of grief after coach Jorge Jesus’ decision to exclude Cristiano Ronaldo from the Al-Nassr vs. Goa match in the AFC Champions League 2.
Ronaldo is not participating in the AFC Champions League 2 matches this season for fear of fatigue, and Jesus believes that the most important thing this season is for Al-Nassr to win the Saudi League title and nothing else.
According to Ravi Puskur, the president of Goa, his club suffered financial losses due to Ronaldo’s absence from the match scheduled for Wednesday in Mumbai.
Puskur said, “Despite Ronaldo’s absence, we have secured sponsorship deals for the match from several companies, especially since we are playing against a major Asian club like Al-Nassr.”
He added, “There is no doubt that the sponsorship money would have increased significantly if Cristiano Ronaldo had come to India, but in the end, it is still there despite his absence.”
Al-Nassr leads its AFC Champions League 2 group with 6 points, and a win over Goa will virtually guarantee qualification to the Round of 16 with three rounds remaining in the group stage.
Ronaldo has scored 6 goals and provided 2 assists in 7 Saudi League matches this season. He missed the first two AFC Champions League 2 matches against Al-Zawraa of Iraq and Istiklol Dushanbe of Tajikistan.
