Is Benzema joining rivals behind Ronaldo’s frustration in Saudi Arabia?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Al-Nassr has been plunged into doubt after he was left out of their squad for Monday’s Saudi Pro League game against Al-Riyadh.

Portuguese outlet A Bola reported the 40-year-old is refusing to play, having grown dissatisfied with how the club is being run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Both Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal – the country’s most successful club with 19 league titles – are among those controlled by the PIF, which also backs Newcastle United.

Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in 2022 after leaving Manchester United mid-season, becoming the best-paid player in football history with an annual salary of £177m, but has only won the Arab Club Champions Cup with them.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner signed a new two-year contract in June 2025.

Before he agreed the new deal, however, there was speculation he might leave Al-Nassr with a loan move to rivals Al-Hilal among those touted.

BBC Sport has also been told that Al Hilal’s pursuit of Karim Benzema is the principle reason for Ronaldo’s frustration at Al Nassr.

“He’s just competitive and doesn’t like other clubs getting stronger”, said one source familiar with the situation at Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo has been prolific since joining Al-Nassr, scoring 14 goals during the 2022-23 Saudi Pro League after signing midway through the season.

The Portugal captain has been the league’s top scorer in its two most recent editions with 35 and 25 goals.

After being named the Best Middle East Player at the Globe Soccer Awards in December, Ronaldo said: “You know what my goal is.

“I want to win trophies and I want to reach that number [1,000 goals] that you all know. I will reach the number for sure, if no injuries.”

He scored his 17th of the season against Al-Kholood on Friday to reach 961 career goals – 39 short of his target.

But trophies have become scarce for Ronaldo.

Al-Nassr finished as league runners-up in his first two campaigns, before coming third last season, 13 points behind champions Al-Ittihad.

They were also beaten in the final of the King’s Cup – the domestic cup competition – in 2023-24 by Al-Hilal on penalties.

Al-Nassr were knocked out of the Asian Champions League Elite semi-finals by Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale last season, and only qualified for the second-tier Asian Champions League Two this season.

Their domestic rivals Al-Ahli, meanwhile, became Asian champions last year with a squad featuring Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino and Ivan Toney.

The five-time Champions League winner’s only trophy with the club remains the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023.

Al-Nassr are among Saudi Arabia’s ‘big four’ which also includes Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad – all of whom have invested heavily since PIF’s takeover in 2023.

Saudi clubs spent about £700m during the 2023 summer, with Neymar joining Al-Hilal for £77.6m in the standout move.

Al-Hilal also signed Aleksandar Mitrovic and Neves from Fulham and Wolves, while Al-Nassr added Manchester United’s Alex Telles, Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane and Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic.

Al-Ahli snapped up Mahrez (Manchester City), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea) and Firmino (Liverpool), while Al-Ittihad acquired N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Fabinho (Liverpool) and Jota (Celtic) among others.

According to Saudi sources Al Hilal are increasingly confident of signing Karim Benzema.

The former France striker and teammate of Ronaldo at Real, has been training alone after falling out with bosses of fellow Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad over a possible contract extension.

But while Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal have all gone on to win major silverware, Al-Nassr have failed to do so.

Amid a general downturn in Saudi Arabia’s outlay in recent windows, Al-Nassr are also behind newly promoted Neom SC and Al-Qadsiah in spendings since last summer.

Al-Qadsiah have added Mateo Retegui from Atlanta and 20-year-old Ghanaian winger Christopher Bonsu Baah from Genk, and only Al-Hilal have spent more than them since last summer.

Al-Nassr signed Joao Felix from Chelsea for £43.7m along with Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich in the summer, but have been quiet during the January window, despite being in a three-way battle for the title with Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli.

Apart from the four Saudi clubs, the PIF portfolio also includes Premier League club Newcastle and the LIV golf series, while it also sponsors the ATP and WTA tennis tours.

From WWE, horse racing and football to golf, boxing and Formula 1, Saudi Arabia has become a hotbed of international sport in recent years and will host the 2034 Fifa World Cup, 2027 AFC Asian Cup and the 2034 Asian Games.

However, there are signs the era of limitless spending might be over.

Last month, the 2029 Asian Winter Games which was to be hosted in the planned city of Neom – still under construction – were postponed indefinitely.

Though no official reason was given, Singapore publication The Straits Times reported that there has been a delay in the construction of a ski resort.

The construction of the 105-mile long Neom city, a standout project in the country’s Vision 2030 programme to diversify its oil-dependent economy, has also been reportedly scaled down amid rising costs and repeated delays.

The scaling back of investment is also visible in the Saudi Pro League.

As Manchester United fans are only too aware, once Cristiano Ronaldo is set on a course, he is not too fussed what the fallout is.

His exit from his second Old Trafford stint in 2022 included a takedown of the club’s training facilities, the way it was structured as “a marketing club” and coach Erik ten Hag.

It was so severe, it was impossible for Ronaldo to stay.

After the dust had settled, he stuck by his comments and said he was happy at how things had played out.