Frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo takes aim at referee with sarcastic rant during Al-Nassr's win over Neom

The incident happened after the referee blew for half-time with the score still locked at 0-0. Ronaldo was visibly frustrated that the referee had halted a promising Al-Nassr attack. While walking towards the tunnel, he approached the official and delivered a pointed message that was dripping with irony, as reported by The Sun.

Ronaldo was heard saying: “Well done, well done. Keep going like that, you’re doing a good game – very good game you do.”

Ronaldo is chasing the once-seemingly impossible dream of 1,000 career goals, and he delivered when it mattered most. A penalty was won after Joao Felix was shoved in the back while chasing the rebound from Ronaldo’s own blocked effort. This gave the captain the perfect chance to settle the contest. Ronaldo stepped up to do the honours from 12 yards and, facing his compatriot Luis Maximiano in goal, he made no mistake from 12 yards to convert his attempt. He fired low and precise into the corner to bring up his 953rd career goal, which was also his 83rd strike in the Saudi Pro League since joining Al-Nassr in early 2023.

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Ronaldo’s penalty doubled Al-Nassr’s lead after Angelo Gabriel opened the scoring just two minutes into the second half. Neom were already struggling to keep pace, and imploded further when Luciano Rodríguez was sent off for a reckless elbow midway through the second half. The red card effectively ended their resistance, and Al-Nassr cruised home with their eighth straight league victory. Since arriving in Riyadh, Ronaldo has scored 35 goals in his first full season, followed by 25 last year, and is now on course to surpass both tallies in his third campaign. Only Felix has outscored him this season as the 25-year-old added a late goal against Neom, which was his 10th of the campaign. 

After the final whistle, any hint of irritation was gone. On social media, he posted a typically cryptic message, which read: "Working on our dream." The Saudi giants are hunting their first domestic crown under Ronaldo’s captaincy, and at this rate, few would bet against them.

Even at 40, Ronaldo’s appetite for goals is undiminished. In 2025 alone, he has averaged better than a goal per game, bringing him within touching distance of the mythical 1,000-goal milestone. Behind him on the Saudi scoring charts is Aleksandar Mitrovic, whose 47 league goals since 2023 look modest compared to Ronaldo’s astonishing 83. 

Away from domestic duties, Ronaldo’s focus now shifts to international football. He will link up with Portugal this week for their World Cup qualifying campaign, with upcoming fixtures against Ireland in Dublin and Armenia in Lisbon. Ahead of those games, he revisited a question that has followed him for years, whether he needs a World Cup to complete his legacy?

"If you ask me, ‘Cristiano, is it a dream to win the World Cup?’ No, it’s not a dream," Ronaldo said to Piers Morgan Uncensored. "To win the World Cup, nothing will change my name in the history of football, I’m not going to lie. One thing that I’m sure of [is] that I will enjoy the moment. The moment is the most important thing that we have. We are not qualified already. Enjoy the moment.

"In my mind, I’m not thinking in that way. Of course, you want to win, yeah. When you compete, you want to win... for me, [winning the World Cup] is not going to change the way I see things. We won three titles for Portugal. Before, Portugal had never won [anything]. Portugal have never won a World Cup. ‘Yeah, but they can win.’ Yes, we’re going to fight for that. But [using it to] define [me] at 40 years old, 41? To define what? To define if I’m one of the best in history? To win one competition, six games, seven games? You think it’s fair? It’s not fair."

After he returns from international duty, Ronaldo will face sixth-placed Al-Khaleej on November 23, followed by an AFC Cup tie against Istiklol.