Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Al‑Nassr and scores in 3-0 win over Diriyah

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to club action in Riyadh on Friday, October 10, 2026, and scored as Al‑Nassr beat Diriyah 3-0 in a Saudi Pro League match.

The appearance came after a turbulent international window in which the 41-year-old walked out of the Portugal squad; he has scored 146 goals in 234 appearances for his country. In a long statement posted on Tuesday, Ronaldo said recently hired coach Jorge Jesus had not been true to his word about when he would play the striker in the Nations League, and the player had won the Saudi Arabia title in May with Jesus as Al‑Nassr coach.

Ronaldo opened the scoring midway through the first half after Kingsley Coman's shot from outside the area was stopped by goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah and the Portugal forward converted the close-range rebound for what the report described as goal number 980 in his career.

Samu Costa doubled Al‑Nassr's advantage just before the interval, and Coman sealed the 3-0 victory with 13 minutes remaining. Al‑Nassr were managed in the match by Ange Postecoglou, identified in the report as a former Tottenham Hotspur boss.

Earlier in the round, Al‑Qadsiah defeated Al‑Kholood 5-0; Dutch international Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring, and Italy's Mateo Retegui and Mexico's Julian Quinones were also among the scorers mentioned.

The win moved the defending champions level on points with league leaders Al‑Qadsiah but behind them on goal difference in the eighth round of the Saudi Pro League.