Cristiano Ronaldo resumes Al-Nassr training after marriage

RIYADH: Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to training with Al-Nassr shortly after getting married, sharing pictures from his training session on Instagram.

The Portugal star posted images of himself training with the Saudi Arabian club, captioning the post, “Back”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

On Tuesday, Ronaldo confirmed his marriage to long-time girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez. On his official Instagram handle, Cristiano posted a picture of himself and Georgina holding hands and wearing their rings. The caption of the post said, “C(heart emoji)G.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

Notably, he was in action for Portugal during the FIFA World Cup 2026, which saw his team get eliminated in the round of 16 in July.

A late Mikel Merino strike helped Spain clinch the quarterfinal spot with a 1-0 win in a match that was expected to feature goals, with the likes of Bruno, Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal and Cristiano Ronaldo featuring in the match.

Cristiano, playing his last-ever FIFA World Cup as he announced ahead of the Spain clash, was once again made to leave with the pitch with sorrow on his face and tears in his eyes as a late winner from Mikel Merino and plenty of missed chances by his side, including from him and Bruno Fernandes saw Portugal suffer again, marking the end of legendary striker’s career at the grandest stage of the sport.

Since Cristiano’s debut at the grandest stage, Portugal has achieved fourth place in his debut tournament in 2006, followed by a round of 16 in the 2010 edition, then a group stage exit in 2014 and then another pre-quarterfinal exit in 2018.

The 2022 edition saw Portugal doing slightly better, making it to the quarterfinals, but it was his long-time rival Lionel Messi who pretty much ended the ‘GOAT’ debates by capturing the prestigious trophy for Argentina and delivering a sensational performance in the final.

Cristiano’s FIFA World Cup career ended with 27 matches (second most by a player) and just 11 goals, underwhelming for a player of his stature and level of club accomplishments. Heading into the tournament, there were a lot of questions around Cristiano’s participation, but as an individual, he had a rather decent outing, with three goals in five matches in this edition. (ANI)