Cristiano Ronaldo’s wait for a first trophy with Al-Nassr continues after the Riyadh giants suffered a painful defeat to Al-Ahli on penalties in Saturday’s Saudi Super Cup final.
This is despite the Portuguese star opening the scoring in regulation time.
The clash, staged in Hong Kong as part of the Kingdom’s global sporting expansion, ended 2–2 after 90 minutes before Al-Ahli held their nerve in the shootout to lift the trophy.
Ronaldo struck in the 40th minute, calmly dispatching a penalty after Al-Ahli defender Ali Majrashi was judged to have handled inside the box.
His finish sent the packed stadium into raptures and looked set to provide the 39-year-old with a long-awaited piece of silverware in Saudi football.
But Al-Ahli, buoyed by their star-studded lineup, hit back swiftly.
Former Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessié restored parity with a crisp strike, punishing slack defending and shifting the momentum back towards the Jeddah side.
The second half delivered even more drama.
Marcelo Brozović seized on a loose ball to put Al-Nassr back in front, only for Al-Ahli through Ibanez to level again in the dying moments and drag the contest to penalties.
The shootout proved decisive.
Al-Ahli’s composure contrasted sharply with Al-Nassr’s missed spot-kicks, sealing a famous victory and condemning Ronaldo and his teammates to yet another final disappointment.
The club lost 5-3 on penalties with both scoring their first three each. Ronaldo, Brozovic and Felix took the kick in that order for Al-Nassr.
While Al Ahli scored the fourth, Al-Nassri missed and converting the last gave the former the victory.
This was Al-Nassr’s sixth appearance in the final—the joint most appearances in the competition—while it was only Al-Ahli’s second.
The defeat means Ronaldo has now lost all three finals since joining Al-Nassr — the 2023 Saudi Super Cup, the 2023 King’s Cup, and now the 2025 edition of the Super Cup.
For a player with one of the most glittering careers in football history, the wait for silverware in Saudi Arabia is proving unusually elusive, PUNCH Online reports.
His only trophy so far is the Arab Club Champions Cup (2023)—not deemed an official title by FIFA.
For Ronaldo and Al-Nassr, the heartbreak in Hong Kong is yet another reminder that their journey to domestic dominance remains unfinished — and that even one of football’s greatest winners cannot escape the cruelty of finals.
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