Ronaldo talks about himself in third person as star hits back at ‘finished’ claims

Cristiano Ronaldo bizarrely referred to himself in the third person as he hit back at claims he is ‘finished’.

The 38-year-old continued his purple patch in Saudi Arabia to lead Al Nassr to a 4-3 win over Pro League rivals Al Ahli on Friday night.

5

Ronaldo opened the scoring with a goal assisted by Sadio Mane, as the former Manchester United and Liverpool stars continued their unlikely budding bromance, and later added a second to his tally.

His double made it 23 goals and seven assists in 27 games for the Portuguese icon since his move to the Middle East, proving that anything Lionel Messi can do, he can do too.

Messi has earned praise for keeping his career alive in the United States, already leading Inter Miami to their first ever silverware and lifting the team from the foot of the Major League Soccer table to within touching distance of the post-season play-offs, with the MLS Cup grand prize still up for grabs.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, headed to Saudi Arabia on the back of a succession of career setbacks.

His bitter Old Trafford exit and no holds barred interview with Piers Morgan led to many insisting he had destroyed his own career at the top level of football.

For some, that view was confirmed when the five-time Ballon d’Or winner left the European game for the first time to join Al Nassr in January.

Meanwhile, the World Cup in Qatar was one of polarising fortunes between the two historic rivals.

Messi finally got his hands on the famous golden trophy with Argentina – and was named player of the tournament – while Ronaldo’s World Cup ended in him only scoring one goal – a penalty in the group stage against Ghana – and ultimately being dropped from the team as Portugal were dumped out by a shock defeat to Morocco.

5

Despite moving out to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo is never far away from the back pages.

Many critics had written Ronaldo off following his career move to the Middle East, with his new club experiencing mixed fortunes since his arrival – including missing out on the Saudi Pro League title last season.

But CR7 was defiant when he spoke to the press after Friday’s match, having scored in his fifth straight game for Al Nassr.

“They say Ronaldo is done… but it’s not true,” he said.

“I will continue to play until my legs say: ‘Cristiano, I’m done’. 

5

5

“I still have a lot. I still love football and scoring goals. I still love winning. 

“They say I’m done but I’m still proving that it’s not true.”

Friday night’s victory was Al Nassr’s fifth win from seven games this season, and lifts them to fifth in the table.

Although they are just three points adrift of league leaders Al Ittihad, who boast Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kane and Fabinho in their side.

Al Hilal, who signed Neymar this summer, are currently in second place, although the Brazilian has only played three games for his new side, contributing two assists.

The new talkSPORT match centre

Keep up-to-date with all the latest football fixtures, results and standings in our new match centre.