Ronaldo to miss Esteghlal trip with minor injury, Al-Nassr confirm

Cristiano Ronaldo is dealing with a minor injury and will miss Al-Nassr’s trip to Esteghlal in the AFC Champions League on Monday.

Ronaldo has scored 25 goals in all competitions for Al-Nassr this season, but Stefano Pioli’s team are well adrift of Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League title race.

They visit Iranian side Esteghlal for the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie on Monday, but they will do so without Ronaldo.

The club announced the 40-year-old’s absence from their travelling squad on social media, with Pioli explaining at a press conference: “He had a physical problem.

“I wouldn’t say it was 100% a big problem, but we preferred him not to be in the game.”

Ronaldo did play 90 minutes in Al-Nassr’s most recent game, a surprise 2-1 defeat to Al-Orobah on Friday.

Al-Nassr reportedly wrote to the AFC to request Monday’s game be moved from Tehran to a neutral venue, after fans stormed into the team hotel to meet Ronaldo when the Saudi side last visited in 2023.

That request has been rejected, with the match set to take place at the Azadi Sports Complex.

AlNassr’s squad list for Esteghlal! pic.twitter.com/EAm5Ac1cfh

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) March 2, 2025