Cristiano Ronaldo broke down in tears after the King’s Cup final (Picture: X)
After his Al-Nassr team lost the King’s Cup final to Al-Hilal on Friday, Cristiano Ronaldo sobbed as he left the field, capping a second consecutive Saudi Arabian season without winning any significant hardware.
Al-Hilal prevailed 5-4 in a penalty shootout to settle a 1-1 match that went into overtime in Jeddah.
At King Abdullah Sports City, Ronaldo—who signed with Al-Nassr in December 2022—fell to the ground in anguish and was comforted by teammates.
The 39-year-old regained his composure in time to pick up his runners-up medal, but as he descended the stairs and headed back towards the pitch, he could barely hide his dismay at the sound of rival supporters chanting Lionel Messi’s name.
Al-Nassr finished second in the Saudi Pro League, 14 points behind Al-Hilal, and the loss occurred just four days after the season concluded. When Ronaldo scored twice to set a new league record of 35 goals in a season, there was some solace.
This time, after a furious match that saw two goals and three red cards, there was no such consolation.
After seven minutes, Aleksandar Mitrovic headed the Al-Hilal goal. When goalkeeper David Ospina, formerly of Arsenal and Napoli, was sent off for handling the ball outside the area early in the second half, things got worse for Al-Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo reacts in the penalty shootout during the King’s Cup final match between Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal (Picture: Getty)
🚨Fans chant "Messi , Messi , Messi "
infront of Ronaldo as he walks off after collecting his loser's medal.😂😂😂😂😂
— Max Stéph (@maxstephh) June 1, 2024
After 86 minutes, Ali Al-Bulaihi was sent off for what appeared to be a headbutt on Sami Al-Najei, reducing Al-Hilal to 10 men as well.
Ayman Yahya headed Al-Nassr level shortly after.
Following a second yellow card for Chelsea signee Kalidou Koulibaly in the summer, Al-Hilal saw another defender sent off in the ninetieth minute.
Extra time ended without any goals, and a shootout was used to decide the winner. Hilal’s opening attempt was missed by Ruben Neves, and Alex Telles, a former Manchester United defender, missed it for Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo, who had earlier struck the bar with an incredible overhead kick, scored from his penalty, but all he could do was watch as Bounou, the hero of Morocco’s run to the 2022 World Cup semifinals, made two saves: one from Ali Al-Hassan and the other from Al-Nemer.
Hilal won the King’s Cup for the eleventh time thanks to the saves, but Ronaldo and his squad will have to wait until the following year.
