Ronaldo has broken his silence after missing a 96th-minute penalty for Al-Nassr against Al-Taawoun on Tuesday.
Al-Nassr remains unbeaten in the Saudi Pro League this season, however, their King’s Cup run has come to an end in the round of 16 after Ronaldo failed to convert from 12 yards.
The home side went behind in the 71st minute after Waleed Al-Ahmed found the net following a corner.
The 39-year-old was given the chance to level the scores deep into additional time, but in some shocking scenes, football’s top goalscorer blazed the ball over the bar.
Ronaldo scored three times in the competition last season but failed to get on the scoresheet this campaign.
Following the miss, Ronaldo took to social media to react to the game.
He wrote on X and Instagram: “Every challenge is an opportunity to grow.”
The Portugal captain has been unusually unreliable from the spot in recent months, missing a crucial spot-kick in extra-time of Portugal’s Euro 2024 clash with Slovenia.
However, Ronaldo did manage to convert the two spot-kicks he took in shootouts in Germany over the summer before Portugal were knocked out by France.
Ronaldo recently spoke about his mentality towards penalties on his YouTube channel, and it’s safe to say he won’t be put off by his recent error.
“I know there are people who are afraid of taking penalties and shootouts, but that’s not Cristiano Ronaldo,” he said.
Cristiano Ronaldo- Getty
“I will never be afraid, even if I miss a penalty, I will take the second, and if I miss the second, I will take the third. I will never be afraid.”
Ronaldo has taken 199 penalties throughout his career, scoring on 168 occasions, so it is likely the Portugal captain knows what he’s talking about.
Al-Nassr will have to quickly regroup ahead of their huge Saudi Pro League clash with Al-Hilal at the weekend.
Al-Hilal have welcomed back Neymar after over a year out and sit on top of the SPL with a 100% win rate after eight games. Featured Image Credit: Getty/Saudi King’s Cup
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