Angry fans in China vented their frustration at Al Nassr’s team hotel after their hopes of meeting star player <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/cristiano-ronaldo/" target="_blank">Cristiano Ronaldo </a>were dashed. The Saudi Pro League club are in Shenzen for training and were scheduled to take part in friendly matches against Shanghai Shenua on Wednesday and Zhejiang on Sunday. However, Ronaldo suffered a muscle injury, ruling him out of the matches, which Nassr then postponed for a later day. The news did not go down well with Chinese supporters, who stormed the team hotel and chanted the Portuguese star’s name. Nassr released a statement on Tuesday night, explaining the situation. “We are sad to announce that, unfortunately, and for reasons beyond Al Nassr's control, the event comprised of two matches scheduled on January 24 and 28 have been postponed,” Nassr said in a statement on social media. “We came here in Shenzhen with a lot of respect for Chinese football fans and specifically for the fans of Ronaldo. “Taking this into consideration, in addition to the tight relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China, we, Al Nassr, are willing to complete our training camp as planned in Shenzhen, a city that has warmly welcomed us and shown so much love for us and our captain. “Furthermore we have agreed with the organiser and the promoter to schedule a new match the soonest.” Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo ended 2023 as the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/12/31/cristiano-ronaldo-ends-2023-with-54-goals-as-al-nassr-ease-past-al-taawoun-in-pictures/" target="_blank">leading goalscorer </a>in men’s football for the calendar year.
