Cristiano Ronaldo was mocked with Lionel Messi's famous Barcelona goal celebration as his new team Al-Nassr struggled in Thursday's Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia.
Morocco striker Abderrazak Hamdallah – who played five games for the North African nation during their stunning run to the final four of the World Cup last month – doubled Al-Ittihad's lead against his former club two minutes before the break after Romarinho had given them the early advantage.
Hamdallah netted at a crucial time in the game as it further compounded a costly miss by Ronaldo just moments earlier, as he spurned a decent opening to draw Al-Nassr level in the game, in what was the Portuguese's second match for the team after completing a stunning move to the Saudi Arabian club earlier this month.
The Moroccan rubbed salt in Ronaldo's wounds with his goal celebration – mimicking Messi holding his shirt up when he scored a last-minute winner for Barcelona away to Real Madrid in an El Clasico from a 2017 LaLiga match - a game in which Ronaldo played.
The camera panned to Ronaldo following Hamdallah's goal and the 37-year-old showed his dissatisfaction by waving his arms in frustration. It ensured that the Portuguese superstar's second match for the club – he also played in an all-stars friendly against Paris Saint-Germain last week – went from bad to worse in the opening period.
Ronaldo ended his second spell at Manchester United by mutual consent in November following a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. He scored twice in last week's entertaining 5-4 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain but his official debut brought further frustration.
The striker's debut came against Al-Ittifaq on Sunday, when an Anderson Talisca strike was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Al-Nassr in a Super Cup clash in which Ronaldo played 90 minutes.
Ronaldo has been criticised in some quarters for choosing to end his career in Saudi Arabia. Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher compared him negatively with Messi, following the Argentine's World Cup win.
"In some ways it's a sad end for him, Carragher told Sky Sports. "Two of the greatest players in Messi and Ronaldo - Ronaldo has finished his career during an interview with Piers Morgan and Messi has won the World Cup. It's not the best way to go out."
