Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej: Cristiano Ronaldo returns after ‘missing training’ in bid to seal Saudi Pro League golden boot

Cristiano Ronaldo will have a final shot at stretching his lead over the likes of Karim Benzema and Ivan Toney in the Saudi Pro League golden boot race when the Al-Nassr captain returns against Al-Khaleej on Monday (17:10 GMT).

On the same evening as Ronaldo’s former club Manchester United face Tottenham in the Europa League final, the 2007/08 Premier League golden boot winner with the Red Devils is in his current club’s starting line-up after three games out.

The game is Al-Nassr’s final home match of a season in which they will finish without a trophy and no higher than third. Ronaldo missed training on Tuesday for personal reasons, according to Al-Riyadh.

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Why didn’t Cristiano Ronaldo play for Al Nassr?

Al-Nassr have had little to play for during the closing stretch of their campaign, with champions Al-Ittihad long beyond their reach and their AFC Champions League campaign ending courtesy of a 3-2 home loss against J League strugglers Kawasaki in the semi-finals on April 30.

Ronaldo was rested before the game against Kawasaki but did not directly contribute to a goal during that match or in Al-Nassr’s subsequent 3-2 home defeat against Al-Ittihad.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo missed Al-Nassr’s 9-0 win at Al-Akhdoud on May 12 because of a “lack of readiness”, the outlet reported at the time.

Former Manchester City regular Aymeric Laporte, who joined Al-Nassr from the Cityzens for £23.6 million in August 2023 but has now been left out of their last four matches, is also said to have been training individually because of “tensions” with manager Stefano Pioli while considering several offers from clubs including Marseille, who sealed Champions League qualification and at least a top-three place in France on Saturday.

|| Starting lineup for today’s match pic.twitter.com/TblwkkT72o

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) May 21, 2025

Cristiano Ronaldo injury: ‘No problem’

Portugal head coach Roberto Martínez named the 40-year-old in his 27-man squad on Tuesday for the Nations League semi-final clash against Germany in Munich on June 4 (20:00).

Ronaldo is out of contract at Al-Nassr at the end of the season, leading to rumours of his potential departure – but Martinez shut down any speculation about the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s physical condition.

“Regarding Cristiano’s fitness, he is available to play,” Martinez said during the squad announcement. “There’s no problem.”

Portugal’s all-time leading scorer has remained a menace in front of goal this term, netting 33 goals in 39 matches across all competitions for Al-Nassr.

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Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej

Jhon Duran – signed from Villa for £65 million in January – and two-time African Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane joined Ronaldo as Pioli’s chosen starting attackers against Al-Taawoun, who started the evening in 10th.

Al-Nassr are guaranteed to finish fifth if they do not match Al-Ahli’s results in their final two games of the season.

Their final game of the season is away to relegation-threatened Al-Fateh on May 26 (19:00).

Saudi Pro League golden boot 24/25

The winner of the golden boot last season, Ronaldo’s 23 league goals put him two ahead of Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema, Al-Ahli’s Ivan Toney and Al-Shabab’s Abderrazak Hamdallah before kick-off.

Julian Quinones, of Al-Qadsiah, is on 20 goals, while Al-Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic has 18 and Quinones team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is tied on 17 with Mitrovic strike partner Marcos Leonardo.

Ronaldo has gone two appearances without netting, last scoring during a 4-1 win away to Japanese side Yokohama in the AFC Champions League on April 26.