Saudi Arabia Striker Cristiano Ronaldo and seven Al Nassr players tested for doping before the match against new champion Al Hilal in round 32 of the Saudi Pro League on May 17.
According to Spanish newspaper AS , some members of the Saudi Anti-Doping Committee suddenly went to Al Nassr headquarters to test for banned substances on the evening of May 14.
In addition to Ronaldo, the Al Nassr players summoned to provide samples for doping tests are Otavio, Sadio Mane, David Ospina, Ali Lajami, Abdullah Al Khaibari, Ayman Yahya and Abdulrahman Ghareeb.
However, on Al Hilal’s side, no players were tested for doping. According to Essentially Sports , this is most likely a normal test with some Al Nassr players called in batches to take samples, before the Saudi Anti-Doping Committee did the same with Al Hilal.
In recent years, the Saudi Anti-Doping Committee has regularly tested for doping and discovered a number of players using banned substances. National player Fahad Al-Muwallad once lost his place in the 2022 World Cup because he tested positive for a banned substance, even though he was initially on the call-up list.
At the age of 39, Ronaldo is still playing explosively with 14 assists and 53 goals through 53 matches from the beginning of the 2023-2024 season for club and team. In particular, the Portuguese striker leads the top scorer race with 33 goals in the Saudi Pro League, seven goals more than Aleksandar Mitrovic. It is almost certain that Ronaldo will become the first player to win top scorer in four countries, including Saudi Arabia, England, Italy and Spain.
Ronaldo extended the record to 887 goals in his career, after 1,219 matches. In particular, the Portuguese striker scored 58 goals in 64 matches since moving to Al Nassr.
But Al Nassr is in danger of running out of money when they lose hope of competing for the championship with Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League, being eliminated in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup and the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League. Ronaldo and his teammates still have a chance to win the title when they will rematch Al Hilal in the King Cup final on May 31.
