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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Duerden

The goals kept coming but no title – so what now for Cristiano Ronaldo?

Cristiano Ronaldo before the Saudi Pro League match between Al-Nassr and Al-Khaleej
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 99 goals in 111 appearances for Al-Nassr but has not won a single trophy. Photograph: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters

For a social media post described around the world as “cryptic”, it doesn’t seem all that hard to decipher. Minutes after Al-Nassr’s last game of a disappointing season ended in defeat on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo – who had previously said that he was happy to finish his career in Saudi Arabia – posted on social media. “This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.”

The biggest star in the Saudi Pro League looks to be on his way out of Riyadh after two and a half years of personal milestones but no major trophy with Al-Nassr. With the Yellows no closer to a first title since 2019 than when he joined in December 2022 and no place in Asia’s Champions League next season, the 40-year-old may not, as the club had long expected, extend his contract – which ends on 30 June – for another year.

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