{"id":259305,"date":"2026-08-23T17:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T17:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/23\/his-inclusion-in-the-starting-lineup-will-cause-al-nassr-to-lose-former-saudi-star-sends-cristiano-ronaldo-warning-to-spl-giants\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T17:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T17:18:15","slug":"his-inclusion-in-the-starting-lineup-will-cause-al-nassr-to-lose-former-saudi-star-sends-cristiano-ronaldo-warning-to-spl-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/23\/his-inclusion-in-the-starting-lineup-will-cause-al-nassr-to-lose-former-saudi-star-sends-cristiano-ronaldo-warning-to-spl-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;His inclusion in the starting lineup&#8230;will cause Al-Nassr to lose&#8221; &#8211; Former Saudi star sends Cristiano Ronaldo warning to SPL giants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5208318\" data-slug-id=\"2826525\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Saudi Arabia international Ahmed Otaif has warned Al-Nassr not to start Cristiano Ronaldo in their upcoming fixtures, claiming that the 41-year-old&#8217;s physical and technical levels have declined. Otaif also believes that the Knights of Najd play with 10 players when Ronaldo is on the pitch due to his lack of pressing.<\/p>\n<p>Ronaldo has excelled at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/al-nassr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Al-Nassr<\/a> over the past three years, recording 124 goals and 24 assists in 143 appearances across all competitions. He also played an integral role in their Saudi Pro League title triumph last season.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>After representing Portugal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and marrying Georgina Rodriguez over the summer, Cristiano Ronaldo was handed extra time to recover. Due to this, he missed the Knights of Najd&#8217;s opening two games of the season.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/cristiano-ronaldo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Ronaldo<\/a> recently made his return to Riyadh, coming off the bench in the 62nd minute against Al-Riyadh. The Portugal ace scored in the 83rd minute, helping his side secure an emphatic 4-0 win in their league clash on August 21.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, Otaif warned Ange Postecoglou and Co. on the <em>Our League is Different <\/em>program (via <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kooora.com\/%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85\/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1\/%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%85-%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AE%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%95%D8%B0%D8%A7-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%83-%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%94%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%8B%D8%A7\/blt4c4e5501c49db33b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Kooora<\/a><\/em>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Ronaldo&#8217;s technical and physical level has declined significantly, and including him as a starter, especially in major matches against Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Qadisiyah, will cause Al-Nassr to lose. Al-Nassr needs to apply pressure and close down spaces against strong clubs, and Ronaldo can no longer do these things, so Al-Nassr plays with only 10 players.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Ahmed Otaif has plenty of expertise in the Saudi Pro League, having led Al-Shabab to 9 titles during his tenure at the club between 2001 and 2018.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>&#8220;He did everything possible&#8221; &#8211; Al-Nassr boss praises Cristiano Ronaldo following 4-0 win over Al-Riyadh<\/h2>\n<p>Ange Postecoglou has waxed lyrical about Cristiano Ronaldo after he scored on his return during their 4-0 win over Al-Riyadh. The Knights of Najd dominated the game, with Abdulelah Al-Amri, Angelo Gabriel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/joao-felix\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Joao Felix<\/a>, and Ronaldo scoring one goal apiece.<\/p>\n<p>During the post-match press conference, Postecoglou said (via <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goal.com\/en\/news\/postecoglou-ronaldo-gave-everything-and-this-is-the-unsung-hero\/bltc4366a9913c247ff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">GOAL<\/a><\/em>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Cristiano Ronaldo always wants to play, but it is important that he takes his time to return, as he was busy during the preparation period. It is wonderful for him (Ronaldo) to score a goal within 30 minutes of play, he did everything possible.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Ronaldo will aim to return to the starting XI during his side&#8217;s next fixture against Al-Ettifaq on August 25.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Silas Sud<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/football\/news-his-inclusion-starting-lineup-will-cause-al-nassr-lose-former-saudi-star-sends-cristiano-ronaldo-warning-spl-giants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Saudi Arabia international Ahmed Otaif has warned Al-Nassr not to start Cristiano Ronaldo in their upcoming fixtures, claiming that the 41-year-old&#8217;s physical and technical levels have declined. Otaif also believes that the Knights of Najd play with 10 players when Ronaldo is on the pitch due to his lack of pressing. Ronaldo has excelled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":259306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-259305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}