Al Nassr experienced their first league defeat in the Saudi Pro League at the start of 2026. This loss not only brought disappointment on the field for the entire squad but also sparked considerable debate and controversy off the pitch. Superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular, became the subject of widespread criticism and mockery following the unexpected result.
Heading into the new year, Al Nassr had maintained an impressive unbeaten run in the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League season, having not lost a single match in their first eleven fixtures. However, this formidable streak came to an end on January 2, 2026, when they suffered their inaugural defeat of the season. Al Nassr fell 3-2 to Al Ahli in a closely contested match. This result significantly reduced the lead for Cristiano Ronaldo’s team at the top of the league table. Despite the loss, Al Nassr retained their position at the summit, though their advantage was trimmed to just two points over second-placed Al Hilal, the reigning champions.
The unexpected defeat proved to be a source of significant disappointment for the 40-year-old superstar forward. During the match, Ronaldo appeared to be uncharacteristically error-prone, particularly with his ball control within the opponent’s penalty area. Several of his shots on goal were off-target or lacked the necessary power to genuinely threaten the Al Ahli net. These struggles on the pitch notably contradicted his pre-match assertions that his team was on the right path regarding their overall performance heading into 2026. Consequently, the immediate aftermath of the loss saw rivals and critics quickly resort to mockery directed at him.
This wave of derision became a prominent talking point following the final whistle, notably fueled by comments from Merih Demiral. Demiral, a former Juventus player and a one-time teammate of Ronaldo, posted an AI-generated image accompanied by a sarcastic caption. The caption initially stated, “Al Nassr never loses a game this season,” but conspicuously had this phrase crossed out in red. It was then replaced with the retort, “Al Nassr has never faced Al Ahli this season.”
Demiral’s post garnered significant attention from football fans in the wake of Al Nassr’s defeat. Despite the pointed taunt, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner chose not to publicly respond to the specific social media jab. Instead, in his post-match press conference, Ronaldo opted to praise the competitive level of the Saudi Pro League, even after experiencing the loss.
The former Real Madrid star further affirmed that Al Nassr’s objectives and tactical system would remain unchanged, despite the disappointment of their match against Al Ahli. He reiterated the team’s commitment to their established plans moving forward.
