Cristiano Ronaldo stretchered off in tears as Al-Nassr win Arab Club Champions Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo holds his leg in pain after suffering an injury playing for Al-Nassr against Al-Hilal in August 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch in tears on a stretcher after firing Al-Nassr to a 2-1 win over Al-Hilal in the Arab Club Champions Cup on Saturday.

The Portuguese levelled the scores in the 74th minute with a close-range finish and then saw what he thought was a winner ruled out for offside.

So the final went to extra time and despite playing with 10 men since the 71st minute following the dismissal of Abdulelah Al-Amri, Ronaldo hit the winner for Al-Nassr eight minutes after the restart.

However, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward was in agony after suffering a late leg injury which left him in tears and he had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher.

It initially looked serious, but the 38-year-old was back on the pitch with his team-mates for the celebrations after claiming his first trophy since moving to the Saudi Pro League in January.

The Portuguese is set to undergo tests on Sunday and Al-Nassr will hope it is only a heavy knock for their star man, who is the leading scorer in the Saudi Pro League this season with six goals.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.