Cristiano Ronaldo played in Iran’s Asian Champions League with Al Nassr with a twist. Ronaldo played in front of an odd group of cardboard cutouts. Since 2016, when a group of Iranian militias known as the Basij raided the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Saudi Arabian teams have refused to play in Iran. But recently, ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran have improved. Hence, Al Nassr were in Iran to play in the Asian Champions League.
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Since the beef between the two nations was done, Cristiano Ronaldo and company decided to travel there. This was for their AFC Champions League opener against Persepolis as a result.
As soon as Al Nassr landed in the Middle Eastern country earlier this week, Cristiano Ronaldo-mania spread. And this was throughout Iran as the superstar was surrounded by jubilant supporters. However, none of them were able to witness their football hero in action since fans were not permitted in the Azadi Stadium.
They fortunately missed very little of Ronaldo’s miserable evening. Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Mohammed Qassem’s second-half goals gave Al Nassr a 2-0 victory.
The AFC penalised Persepolis for sending an abusive tweet regarding an Indian team in 2020, leading to the stadium ban.
In images reminiscent of the lockdown era, the club took the odd choice to cover the pitch with cardboard cutouts of its supporters. And while players like Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, and Aymeric Laporte easily won, it created for a spooky scene.
Cristiano Ronaldo, though, had a forgettable game since he had little effect on the game. That is quite the departure from his Saudi Pro League form – where he has scored seven goals in five games.
Al Nassr sit sixth in their domestic league after four wins and two defeats from their opening six games. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 21 goals in 26 games since arriving in Saudi.
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