On Oct. 28, Al-Nassr FC suffered a defeat to Al-Ittihad, resulting in its knockout from the Saudi Arabian King’s Cup at the Round of 16 stage. Cristiano Ronaldo missed the opportunity to earn his first trophy in 13 tournaments since joining the team in January 2023, Sports Illustrated reported.
King’s Cup
Round of 16, Oct. 28
Al-Nassr vs. Al-Ittihad: 1-2
Goals: Ângelo 30’; Karim Benzema 15’, Houssem Aouar 45+2’
Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the 15th minute of the match. The hosts leveled the score through a goal by Ângelo Gabriel. However, former Lyon player Houssem Aouar secured the winning goal at the end of the first half.
Despite a numerical advantage, Al-Nassr’s offensive line — featuring Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman, João Félix, and Sadio Mané — failed to recover in the second half.
The Portuguese forward reacted to the elimination with a post on social media:
«We stand tall, learn, and move forward together,» Ronaldo wrote on Instagram.
Ronaldo still has not won a trophy in Saudi Arabia
Since joining Al-Nassr in early 2023, the Portuguese footballer has played in 13 official tournaments but has yet to lead the team to a title.
Al-Nassr has finished second twice in the Saudi Pro League — in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons — but has failed to end the dominance of Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad. The club even dropped to third in the previous campaign.
Ronaldo has also participated in the AFC Champions League. Reaching the semifinals last season was his closest chance at a major trophy. The Portuguese forward has lost four finals with Al-Nassr — the 2024 King’s Cup and two consecutive Saudi Super Cup finals in 2024 and 2025.
Al-Nassr did win the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup; however, the tournament is not recognized by FIFA as an official competition.
Ronaldo’s next trophy chance
Since Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the 2025-26 AFC Champions League, the only remaining opportunity for Ronaldo to win a title this season is the Saudi Pro League. Al-Nassr remains undefeated after six rounds, topping the table three points ahead of Al-Taawoun.
Ronaldo’s career
Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in January 2023. In nine matches this season, the 40-year-old Portuguese forward has scored seven goals and provided two assists.
He made his international debut for Portugal in a friendly match against Kazakhstan in 2003. With him, Portugal won its first major trophy — UEFA Euro 2016 — and later secured the UEFA Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025. He has made 225 appearances for the national team, scoring 143 goals — a world record for international goals — and providing 45 assists.
Previously, Ronaldo was recognized as the record holder for the number of goals scored in World Cup qualifiers. He is also the first footballer to become a billionaire, with an estimated net worth of about $1.4 billion.
