Former Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be mocked with Lionel Messi's famous Barcelona goal celebration during Al-Nassr's 3-1 defeat to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Arabian Super Cup semi-final on Thursday evening.
Ronaldo, who will turn 38 next month, made his second appearance for his new club, sporting the captain's armband, but failed to find the back of the net, meaning he is still waiting for his maiden goal in Al-Nassr colours. He joined the club last month on a free transfer following his exit from Old Trafford in November.
Al-Nassr fell behind with just a quarter of an hour on the clock, courtesy of Romarinho's 15th-minute opener. Al-Ittihad then doubled their advantage just before half-time through Moroccan international Abderrazak Hamdalla. And it was the celebration by one of Hamdalla's teammates in the aftermath of his goal that appeared to mock Ronaldo, replicating an iconic celebration Messi produced during his Barcelona career.
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The striker raced away to celebrate the goal and was immediately mobbed by most of his teammates. However, while that was happening at one end of the pitch, Al-Ittihad captain and former West Bromwich Albion defender Ahmed Hegazi came across to the technical areas, found a TV camera and held up a shirt with the name and number of teammate Suwailem Al-Menhali on the back of it. Messi once did something similar during an El Clasico showdown between Barcelona and Real Madrid back in 2017, where the now-Paris Saint-Germain star held up his shirt in celebration.
Ronaldo, of course, played in that fixture for Madrid, meaning the TV cameras quickly focused on Al-Nassr's star attraction and showed his frustration and disappointment, as he waved his arms around after his side conceded for a second time in the contest. His side, though, did pull a goal back midway through the second half, courtesy of Talisca, but Al-Ittihad added a third goal to their tally in stoppage time to put the gloss on the victory.
Having failed to find the back of the net in each of his opening two appearances for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo, who left United as a result of a controversial interview with Piers Morgan, will be determined to open his account for the Saudi giants when they lock horns with Al Fateh next Friday. He has scored since moving to Saudi Arabia, scoring twice for a Riyadh All-Star XI in a friendly against PSG, though it was not enough to stop the Saudi side from losing the contest 5-4.
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