Al-Nassr vs Arkadag: Cristiano Ronaldo out of squad

Cristiano Ronaldo missed the Al-Nassar game while the team advanced to the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League Two. It was a profound 1-0 win over Arkadag FC of Turkmenistan that secured a 2-0 aggregate victory. Reports suggest that Cristiano has been absent for a lot of these line-ups.

Why was Cristiano Ronaldo out of the lineup of Al-Nassr vs Arkadag?

Local news publications have noted that the footballer stayed away from the leagues including some of the major games of Saudi Pro League and the latter stages of the AFC Champions League. He missed three major Saudi Pro League matches, in what appears to be a boycott linked to a protest against the Public Investment Fund.

The backstory of his protest includes the failure of the company’s investment into the team. While the rival team Al Hilal who is also owned by PIF for a 75% majority were able to bring in his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad, no such thing was applicable for Al-Nassar. 

But he returned to Al Nassr's lineup for Saturday's (Feb 14) match at Al Fateh and scored, after the PIF met his demands. As for the recent lineup, he missed it intentionally to keep himself ready for the final stages of the matches. 

Al Nassr after the major win will now face Al Wasl of the United Arab Emirates in the first leg of the quarterfinals of Asia’s second-tier competition that is scheduled to be held on March 3. The club is just a point behind Al-Hilal who sits at the top of the scoreboard. 

In the top-tier AFC Champions League Elite, Japan has sent three teams while South Korea has two teams to the round of 16 in the eastern zone. The top eight from each of the two 12-team groups will go to the next stage. Johor Darul Tazim of Malaysia and Buriram United of Thailand have significantly made progress in their game while Melbourne City became just the second Australian team to reach the round of 16 since 2016.

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