As previously reported, Cristiano Ronaldo did not travel with the entire Al Nassr team to Qatar to play against Al Duhail in round 4 of the AFC Champions League group stage. The reason CR7 was eliminated from this top match was said by head coach Luis Castro to preserve his physical strength, not because of any other issue.

Al Nassr removed Ronaldo from the match against Al Duhail in the Asian Cup to avoid risks (photo: Getty)

“Ronaldo was absent because of fatigue. A few days ago he played a match that went into extra time and then 48 hours ago had an important match in the Saudi Pro League.

I know there are a lot of people who want to meet Ronaldo, but he also needs to rest.” Al Nassr coach shared before the match.

After not being able to participate in the trip to Qatar with the team, Ronaldo recently made the first move to break the silence. Specifically, just a few hours before the match against Al Duhail, CR7 posted a picture of him and the entire team holding each other’s shoulders with the message “Good luck to the whole team”.  with a green gold heart symbol and the Al Nassr Club name tag.

Ronaldo sent a message of support to Al Nassr and his teammates before the important match (photo: Instagram)

The action demonstrates the leadership qualities and sense of responsibility of captain Al Nassr as he will support his teammates whether on the field or not.

As for Al Nassr, this club currently has 9 absolute points after 3 matches played in Group E of the Asian Cup. As long as they draw the match against Al Duhail in the early morning of November 7, they will definitely have a ticket to continue regardless of first and second place in the group.

Because in the previous match of this group, Persepolis was held to a 1-1 draw by Istiklol Club. At this time, the gap between Al Nassr and the eliminated 3rd place is 7 points and they only need to win at least 1 more point to be safe regardless of the results of the last 2 matches.