Cristiano Ronaldo transfer news: Al Nassr forward wants to continue strike over funding as Saudi officials release statement

Saudi Arabian football officials are losing patience with Cristiano Ronaldo as he considers extending his strike.

Ronaldo's protest is harming the image of the Saudi Pro League and the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund. The SPL is trying to make sure he plays on Friday by warning him publicly.

Ronaldo wants to continue his one-man protest by missing a second game even though he is fully fit and training with his team-mates.

He still feels his club Al Nassr are not being backed financially as much as their title rivals Al Hilal.

Both clubs are majority owned by The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

The forward is convinced Al Hilal are getting preferential treatment and he was particularly angry that they strengthened their squad by bringing in players such as Karim Benzema during the January window. Benzema scored a hat-trick on his debut today as Al Hilal's beat Al Akhdoud 6-0 to stretch their lead over third-placed Al Nassr to four points in the SPL.

Ronaldo was expected to feature against Al Ittihad on Friday, having posted a picture of himself in training on X on Wednesday.

Officials are hoping he has made his point and Friday's game will be too big for him to miss, and have urged him to return to the pitch.

"Fans in Saudi and around the world want to see Cristiano back playing and competing as soon as possible. The support he has had since he arrived in the Kingdom remains and everything is still to play for," a senior official said.

The officials are surprised that he is unhappy - despite earning a reported £500,000 a day - and want him to play on Friday.

He has 18 months left on his contract but it does have a £43m (€50m) summer release clause - even though he turned 41 on Thursday.

Al Nassr could go top of the Saudi Pro League on Friday.