Ronaldo dropped from Al Nassr's AFC Champions League squad over Middle East security concerns

Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Al Nassr’s AFC Champions League fixture against Pakhtakor in Tashkent on Monday, with security concerns stemming from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East cited as the backdrop to his absence.

Head coach Ange Postecoglou, the former Tottenham manager now leading the Saudi club, attributed the omissions of Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan to “the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved.” The explanation offered a diplomatic framing of a situation that has repeatedly disrupted the tournament in recent months.

Ronaldo was also rested last week when Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates declined to travel to Riyadh for a Champions League fixture, forcing its postponement. Al Nassr’s previous home game in the competition in October had been delayed by an hour following reports of missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The absences compound an already difficult continental campaign for Al Nassr, who sit ninth in the western zone group — the lowest-ranked of Saudi Arabia’s five representatives in the 32-team tournament. Only the top eight advance to the knockout rounds.

“Despite the difficult start, the preparation conditions, and the lack of complete readiness at the beginning of the season, we have now reached an excellent stage,” Postecoglou said.

Ronaldo’s form domestically has been sharper. He scored a hat-trick in a Saudi Pro League match last week and now stands at 985 career goals for club and country as he pursues the landmark of 1,000.

His absence from the continental stage, however, has drawn renewed scrutiny of his overall trajectory. Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, who oversaw the termination of Ronaldo’s contract at Old Trafford following a public interview in 2022, offered a blunt assessment in an interview with ESPN Netherlands.

“He is, of course, a tremendous player, one of the greats of all-time,” Ten Hag said. “But that is also the reality; over the last seven, eight years, he can simply no longer deliver. From Juventus onwards, it’s simply over. And that is actually the great gift of Real Madrid — they always know when to say goodbye to players at the right moment.”

Al Nassr have never won the AFC Champions League title, and with the club’s continental ambitions under pressure both on and off the pitch, Ronaldo’s availability for future fixtures may depend as much on geopolitics as on form.