Cristiano Ronaldo Responds to Lionel Messi Chants from Al-Hilal Fans

Cristiano Ronaldo was playfully teased by rival fans during Al-Nassr's match against Al-Hilal on Friday.

The 39-year-old has been in remarkable form in the Saudi Pro League since joining Al-Nassr, scoring nine goals in all competitions for the Riyadh club this season.

However, he has frequently faced chants of Lionel Messi's name from fans throughout his time in Saudi Arabia. After a previous match against Al-Shabab in February, Ronaldo reacted by making an obscene gesture that resulted in a one-match ban and a fine of 10,000 riyals ($2,081).

This time, however, he took the teasing in stride, simply responding with a cheeky thumbs up during the 1-1 draw.

Al Hilal fans were chanting "Messi Messi", so Ronaldo gave them a thumbs-up pic.twitter.com/hRhFEbgVgu

— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) November 1, 2024

While the crowd's taunts failed to rattle Cristiano Ronaldo, he was clearly frustrated with the referee's performance at Al-Awwal Park.

After Talisca put Al-Nassr ahead just a minute into the match, tensions escalated between the rivals, resulting in yellow cards for Ronaldo, Marcelo Brozovic, and Sadio Mane in the first half.

As the players headed to the tunnel for halftime, Ronaldo expressed his dissatisfaction to match official Felix Zwayer. "We receive three yellow cards. Al-Hilal have zero," he was heard saying. "Be fair for both teams!"

Ultimately, Al-Nassr couldn't hold onto their early lead, as former Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored in the dying moments to equalize for Al-Hilal, securing a point for his team.

Cristiano Ronaldo to the referee:
“We received 3 yellow cards. Al Hilal didn’t receive any. Be fair!” pic.twitter.com/fZKscU87HZ

— aurora (@cr7stianos) November 1, 2024

After the match, Ronaldo took to social media to express his gratitude, writing: "The battle is far from over. Thank you all for the support today!"

The draw keeps Ronaldo's team unbeaten this season, but they find themselves six points adrift of Al-Hilal, having drawn four of their first nine fixtures.

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