Cristiano Ronaldo misses second Al Nassr match amid Saudi Pro League dispute

Cristiano Ronaldo missed his second straight match with Al Nassr on Friday as part of an ongoing dispute between the Saudi Pro League and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The 41-year-old Portuguese striker did not feature again since Al Nassr won 2-0 over Al Ittihad, and he also missed Monday's victory against Al Riyadh.

The international media noted that Ronaldo had even contemplated skipping the game because he was not satisfied with the promises of the PIF to remodel the management of Al Nassr.

Regardless of those reports, club officials had been anticipating that Ronaldo would be available. International media speculated that his previous absence was due to frustration at what he considered to be a lack of support in the January transfer window.

Ronaldo is known to have been especially displeased when the signing of Karim Benzema, his former Real Madrid teammate, by Al Ittihad was done.

The fans in Al-Awwal Park responded by waving yellow placards bearing the name of Ronaldo and his trademark No. 7 in the seventh minute.

The Saudi Pro League issued a statement Thursday warning Ronaldo that no player could influence decisions beyond his own team.

"The Saudi Pro League is structured around a simple principle: Every club operates independently under the same rules," the league said.

The victory by Al Nassr saw them climb to second place in the table, only one point behind the leaders Al Hilal.