Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo has been rested for Wednesday’s AFC Champions League 2 match against FC Goa at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.
The Saudi Arabian club’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, however, will have top players like forwards Sadio Mane, Joao Felix and defender Inigo Martinez at his disposal.
“Jorge Jesus has called up all foreign players for the match against FC Goa, except for Ronaldo, who is being rested, and (Marcelo) Brozovic, who is out due to injury,” social media handle Al Nassr Zone wrote on X.
Earlier, Saudi newspaper Al Riyadhiah reported that 40-year-old Ronaldo is not going to be a part of the travelling party despite multiple requests from the FC Goa management.
Al Nassr are bracing for their third game in the continental club tournament after their comfortable league win over Al Fateh.
FC Goa had defeated Al Seeb of Oman to qualify for ACL 2 and were then drawn alongside Al Nassr in Group D of the tournament.
They lost both their matches against Al Zawraa of Iraq and Istikol FC of Tajikistan.
Al Nassr and FC Goa were drawn in the same group of the continental tournament. That had raised expectations of the Portuguese superstar making a trip to India for a competitive match.
It is understood that his contract with Al Nassr has a clause giving him the right to pick and choose matches outside Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo, who is looking to play in next year’s World Cup, is also focussed on managing his workload and give himself a chance to compete in the showpiece.
Moreover, Al Nassr have won both their group-stage matches in the absence of Ronaldo.