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Cristiano Ronaldo was overcome with emotion after his team, Al Nassr, lost the King’s Cup final to Al Hilal on penalties late on Friday, prolonging his wait for a trophy in Saudi Arabia.
The arrival of the Portuguese superstar last year led to an influx of top players joining the oil-funded Saudi Pro League, but he was left devastated as Al Hilal celebrated their victory.
After the match, the 39-year-old Ronaldo was seen sitting on the sidelines with tears running down his face, following a tumultuous game that included three red cards, one of which was for Al Nassr’s former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina.
Ayman Yahya's 88th-minute goal canceled out Al Hilal’s early strike through Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Al Hilal emerged victorious with a 5-4 win in the shoot-out, securing the Saudi treble by adding the Super Cup and the Saudi Pro League titles to their unbeaten domestic record.
This season, Al Hilal achieved a remarkable 34-match winning streak in all competitions, even with star signing Neymar sidelined due to injury since October. Despite the impressive performance, Al Nassr, who finished second in the league behind Al Hilal and lost to them in the Super Cup, missed out once again. Ronaldo, who scored a record-breaking 35 goals in the Pro League, was unable to lead Al Nassr to victory.
He has only won one major trophy with the Riyadh club, which is the Arab Club Champions Cup from last year.
Ronaldo's contract, reportedly worth 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years, will expire at the end of the upcoming season.
