Criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo continues to mount in Saudi Arabia, with the latest coming from Sultan Al-Lahiani, a former Al-Wahda player, who deemed the Portuguese star one of Al-Nassr’s weakest players recently.
Al-Nassr stumbled in four of their last five Saudi League matches, drawing against Al-Ettifaq and suffering three consecutive defeats, most recently against Al-Hilal, before narrowly returning to winning ways with a 3-2 victory over Al-Shabab on Saturday.
Following Ronaldo’s lackluster performance against Al-Shabab, Al-Lahiani said, “Most of his decisions are wrong, his positioning is poor, and this affects the team’s system and attacking options. He should be positioned deeper; he’s the striker, he should be the focal point for the team.”
He added, “His decisions need to be quicker, and his options need to be greater. This hasn’t been the case in the last five matches. He’s one of the team’s weakest players physically, as well as in terms of decision-making.”
He added, “Ronaldo thwarted Al-Nassr’s entire attacking system by wasting numerous easy chances against Al-Shabab, as he seemed to be overthinking things.”
He concluded, “It’s not just about not scoring; these mistakes backfire on Al-Nassr. When the ball is intercepted in the attacking third, the team’s defense is vulnerable. There’s currently no better alternative to him in his position, so he’s irreplaceable.”
The 40-year-old Ronaldo leads the Saudi Professional League’s top scorers list for the 2025-26 season, having scored 15 goals in 15 matches so far. Al-Nassr currently sits in second place in the league, four points behind leaders Al-Hilal.
