has landed himself in hot water for his involvement in a bizarre incident following Al-Nassr‘s 2-0 defeat to Al-Hilal – but new footage may go some way to explaining his furious reaction on Thursday.
After his Al-Nassr side came out second best in the final of the Riyadh Season Cup, across social media.
Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure for most of the match, with first-half goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Salem Aldawsari sealing a comfortable Al-Hilal win – and the superstar forward was visibly seething after the final whistle.
Persistent chants of ‘Messi, Messi, Messi!’ raining down from the stands of the 30,000-seater stadium did little to improve Ronaldo’s mood before he went home empty-handed.
Clearly less than impressed with the officiating on show at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena, the stormed off the pitch and was struck on the head by a scarf thrown from the crowd while making his way down the tunnel.
Rather than continuing towards the dressing room, an enraged Ronaldo decided to rub the scarf on his crotch before chucking it back in the direction it had come from – and the veteran attacker has, unsurprisingly, come under fire for his petulant behaviour.
However, another video has since circulated that appears to show a young supporter flinging water in Ronaldo’s direction which perhaps adds a layer of context to his bizarre reaction just moments later.
Al-Nassr do battle with Al-Fayha in the AFC Champions League next Wednesday and Ronaldo is expected to feature at Riyadh’s Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium.
It’s unlikely the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will face any punishment for his petulant behaviour after Thursday’s final.
Last month, Ronaldo picked up the Maradona Award, crowning him the world’s leading scorer, after netting 54 goals in 59 games for Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo – who is reportedly on wages of £3.4m-a-week – has repeatedly defended his move to the Saudi Pro League and last month claimed it was a better standard of football than he experienced in Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain.
‘To be honest, I think the Saudi Pro League is not worse than the French league, in my opinion,’ he said at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai.
‘In the French league I think you have two, three teams with a good level. In Saudi now I think it’s more competitive.
‘They can say whatever they want, it’s just my opinion and I played there one year so I know what I’m talking about.
‘But I think right now we are better than the French league, we still improve.’
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