Is Cristiano Ronaldo Playing Tonight For Al Nassr Vs Granada?

Al Nassr without Cristiano Ronaldo is not a threat. The nine-time Saudi League champions failed to win at least one game in their three pre-season friendly fixtures in CR7’s absence. While the Portuguese skipper has been on vacation with his family after a tumultuous UEFA Euro campaign, everyone now wonders if the 39-year-old’s getaway is over, as Al Nassr gears up to face La Liga side Granada in Spain. 

As it turned out, the Al Nassr entourage could let out a breather. Cristiano Ronaldo has yesterday rejoined the club’s training camp in Spain after his family trip. But does that mean the 5x-Ballon d’Or winner is going to start in the Granada tie? No worries, we have you covered.

Here’s the latest update on Cristiano Ronaldo’s availability against Granada

After a series of Instagram posts about his endorsements, and family vacation, Cristiano Ronaldo finally shared an Al Nassr-related post last night. The Portuguese captain announced he is back with the club by sharing pictures of him gleefully greeting his teammates at the Al Nassr camp in Granada. “Good to be back,” the 5x-Ballon d’Or winner captioned his post. Clearly, he has started training with his pals. Nonetheless, certain reports from Saudi League sources indicate that the skipper will miss tonight’s game with Granada.

An X handle named Al Nassr Zone, which frequently posts about the club, said that Cristiano Ronaldo won’t lace up against Granada. But it added that the former Real Madrid star will start for Al Nassr in its upcoming friendly against La Liga’s UD Almería.

However, the club has yet to confirm when it will play UD Almería. Reports have it that the yellow team would face UD Almería on August 08 or August 09. It remains to be seen how Al Nassr fares against Granada in Ronaldo’s absence. Anyhow, it is quite bizarre to note that CR7, at 39 is still the most vital player for the 9x-Saudi League winners. Why so? Let’s find out.

Why is Al Nassr never in a ‘no Ronaldo no problem’ phase?

Ace Brazilian striker Anderson Talisca and former Liverpool heavyweight Sadio Mane have cut helpless figures in Al Nassr’s forward line during their recent friendly games. In Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, Al Nassr forwards have scored only once in a lackluster draw and misfired in two back-to-back losses. So, fans by now will be quite impatient and badly want Ronaldo to rejoin the frontline and end its misfiring woes.

After all, he has been there. Done that. He was the Knights of Najd’s top goalscorer last season with an impressive 44 goals in 45 games. Moreover, he topped the list of goalscorers for the year 2023, beating young wizards such as Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in the process. So there won’t arguably be a no Ronaldo no problem phase for the Knights of Najd. The 39-year-old’s presence becomes all the more important for the yellow team, as they face Al Taawoun in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final on August 14.