Complete break? Mutual concessions? Cristiano Ronaldo’s journey in Saudi Arabia reaches a crossroads.

Written by Han Bing. With the Portuguese star’s ongoing strike, the “Ronaldo crisis” in Saudi football is worsening, and the future path is becoming more unpredictable. British media believe that the further deterioration means any outcome is possible: a happy resolution if the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Saudi league reach an agreement with Ronaldo; but it is also possible that with the support of Al Nassr’s coach, players, fans, and even the club itself siding with Ronaldo, the crisis could escalate from an individual star issue to a broader social division within Saudi football; the worst case would be Ronaldo leaving after his demands are unmet, resulting in a lose-lose-lose scenario for Ronaldo, Al Nassr, and the Saudi league.

Renowned sports journalist Ben Jacobs explained why Ronaldo feels the resource allocation is unfair. The Saudi Public Investment Fund backs the Saudi league with a seasonal budget of 2 billion euros used for summer transfers, salaries, and agent fees. This budget, called the Player Acquisition and Club Enhancement (PACE) plan, is distributed according to each club’s needs and market conditions, meaning clubs receive different amounts. Although the four Saudi giants have their own financial resources, they mainly depend on the PACE plan for transfers, which often causes conflicts over funds and target players.

Benzema’s strike and move to Al Hilal triggered an unprecedented crisis for Ronaldo’s strike, forcing the Saudi Public Investment Fund to accelerate the sale of shares in the four major clubs. Al Hilal has confirmed its acquisition by Prince Talal for an estimated $400 million. Al Nassr also has a potential buyer in Prince Turki, a golden member of the club. Once Al Nassr is acquired, the issue of uneven resource distribution for transfers and star targets will be completely resolved.

Additionally, Ronaldo recently expressed dissatisfaction with Al Nassr’s financial crisis, also hoping the Saudi Public Investment Fund would provide more capital support. Al Nassr’s winning bonuses were canceled, coach Jesus’s training camp requests were denied due to lack of funds, staff salaries were delayed, and many official overseas trips were canceled due to budget shortages, causing widespread discontent.

Ronaldo’s disappointment stems from the fact that the promised financial and transfer support upon joining Al Nassr was not fulfilled. The sports director Semedo, appointed by Ronaldo, had his financial powers suspended, leading to the cancellation of six ready transfer deals (three foreign and three domestic national players) for Al Nassr. Benzema joining Al Hilal was just the tipping point for this series of unfair resource allocation issues that failed to support Ronaldo and Al Nassr.

However, Saudi Public Investment Fund and Saudi league officials have stated they will meet with Ronaldo soon, hoping to keep the Portuguese star. On one hand, they want him to achieve the milestone of 1000 career goals in the Saudi league; on the other, they hope Ronaldo will lead the acquisition of Al Nassr to maintain his global influence on Saudi football and maximize the promotional impact for the 2034 World Cup.

Famous transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed that Ronaldo is about to publicly address all controversies centered around his strike, marking a turning point in his fate. Whether it will be a complete split like four years ago with Manchester United or a compromise with Saudi parties to resolve the crisis remains unknown.

The Ronaldo strike crisis is expanding, evolving into a social division within the Saudi league centered on him. Al Nassr head coach Jesus has missed two consecutive post-match press conferences to show support for Ronaldo. In the match against Al Ittihad, Ronaldo was absent, and Angelo scored the winning goal in the 6th minute of injury time, immediately performing Ronaldo’s signature “Siuuu” celebration. This tribute video quickly went viral on Saudi social media, and thousands of Al Nassr fans displayed Ronaldo’s No.7 cards during the match. This symbolizes the growing influence of Ronaldo’s strike.

After the Saudi league issued routine disciplinary warnings regarding Ronaldo’s strike, rumors immediately circulated that overseas broadcasters might prematurely withdraw and terminate contracts. Although the Saudi league later denied these rumors, if Ronaldo really leaves Saudi Arabia, the exit of these overseas broadcasters would be inevitable.

Portugal’s “A Bola” warned that if Ronaldo leaves this summer, it could trigger a wave of star departures from the Saudi league. Currently, up to 125 stars (including foreign and well-known domestic players) have contracts expiring this summer, including big names like Mane, Brozovic, Nacho, Wijnaldum, Koulibaly, Kessie, and Bono.

Ronaldo’s departure would represent a major challenge for the Saudi league in maintaining its competitiveness. The North American, Turkish, and Brazilian leagues are becoming strong rivals, forcing the Saudi league to quickly take effective measures to reduce and eliminate the negative impact caused by Ronaldo’s strike crisis. The UK’s Daily Mail-affiliated I Paper disclosed that if Ronaldo insists on leaving, the Saudi league intends to find a new “ambassador” this summer. Targets include Salah, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, and Casemiro, all influential in the Arab world.

However, the combined global influence of these three stars does not match Ronaldo’s, especially since he is the ambassador for the 2034 Saudi World Cup. If Ronaldo ultimately leaves in such an undignified manner, it would be a fatal blow to Saudi football’s focus on the 2034 World Cup. Even if the Saudi league continues to bring in stars this summer, the premise is to retain Ronaldo as much as possible.

Regarding Ronaldo’s possible departure, clubs like Los Angeles FC and Inter Miami in North America, Galatasaray in Turkey, and even his hometown club Sporting CP in Portugal have shown strong interest. Ronaldo emphasizes that before the World Cup, he must have stable playing time to maintain his condition for the tournament. Given his close relationship with FIFA President Infantino, who arranged Ronaldo’s meeting with Trump, and Trump’s support for Ronaldo entering the North American market, this serves as important “capital” for Ronaldo’s challenge to the Saudi league.