Cristiano Ronaldo sits out Saudi match amid reported PIF dispute

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have sat out of a Saudi Pro League match in protest over a disagreement with the Public Investment Fund.

Ronaldo, who plays for the Al Nassr Football Club, skipped Monday night’s game against Al Riyadh, which his team won 1-0.

The Portuguese forward, who signed for Al Nassr in 2023, has become enmeshed in the kingdom’s global image, acting as a brand ambassador for tourism and sports ventures.

He is also building his own Saudi business empire, from hair loss clinics and real estate to his stake in Al Nassr.

Ronaldo reportedly became frustrated after Al Nassr failed to sign any new star players, while leading competitor Al Hilal, which is also backed by the PIF, signed France’s Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad. 

Saudi soccer signals change, selling team to U.S. investor group

For the first time, a Saudi soccer team has been acquired by a foreign investor.

The Saudi Pro League’s Al-Kholood club was bought by the Harburg Group, a business founded by American private equity investor Ben Harburg, for an undisclosed price.

The sale to a foreign group represents a change in Saudi Arabia, which has invested heavily in European soccer and spent hundreds of millions of dollars poaching foreign players, including Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The kingdom’s Ministry of Sport announced two other soccer team acquisitions on Thursday: The Al-Zulfi club was sold to Riyadh-based Nojoom AlSalam Co. and Medina-based Al-Ansar was acquired by Awdah Al Biladi and his Sons Contracting Ltd.