When Cristiano Ronaldo signed the big-money deal in Saudi Arabia, he didn’t think he’d have to go through stuff like this. Oh no. His Al-Nassr side lost 3-1 in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final to Al-Ittihad, but that’s not the worst part of the Portuguese’s Thursday night.Ronaldo missed his first chance to win a trophy in the Middle East, but he also had to listen to the opposing fans chant the name of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s nemesis. Ouch, that had to hurt!Well Done! 🚫😉#الاتحاد_النصر #WeAreTogether pic.twitter.com/VbWRGVSv0f— نادي الاتحاد السعودي (@ittihad) January 26, 2023 CR7 was mocked with Messi’s famous Barcelona goal celebration. Morocco striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, who starred for his country in the World Cup, doubled Al-Ittihad’s lead against his former club and celebrated by holding up his shirt a-la-Messi. The Argentine held up his shirt up when he scored a last-minute winner for Barcelona away to Real Madrid in an El Clasico from a 2017 La Liga match – a game in which Ronaldo played.##NAJAVA_MECA_6978602##Ronaldo probably didn’t expect to witness such humiliation again. He was very annoyed.Although Anderson Talisca pulled one back for Al-Nassr midway through the second half, Al-Ittihad, coached by former Wolves and Spurs coach Nuno Espirito Santo, stood firm and swept up the pressure before scoring another on the break through Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti.Opposition fans chanting “Messi, Messi” as Ronaldo is dumped out of the Saudi Super Cup 💀pic.twitter.com/laa9mSBuj0— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) January 27, 2023 But for Ronaldo, it will be a massive blow as he suffers his first defeat since making the switch to Al-Nassr earlier this month. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had a couple of chances to score but was fairly quiet throughout for the second successive match after blanking on his debut.To wrap up a miserable night for CR7, many Al-Ittihad fans were chanting “Messi, Messi, Messi…” to rub salt in the open wounds of Al-Nassr’s prized asset.It’s safe to say that Ronaldo’s switch to Saudi Arabia hasn’t been a pleasant one so far. Unless you calculate how much money he earns every day, of course.
