Cristiano Ronaldo missed one of the biggest sitters of his career to date during Al Nassr's AFC Champions League quarter-final clash against Al Ain.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who signed a record-breaking deal with Al Nassr in 2022 worth a reported ยฃ175 million-a-year, has been in superb form this season.
As well as scoring 22 goals in 21 league games, Ronaldo has been instrumental in their AFC Champions League campaign, netting five times on their way to the quarter-final stages.
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Luis Castro's side suffered a 1-0 defeat in the first leg against Al Ain on March 4.
But they put up a better fight on Monday night as goals from Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Khalid Eisa and Alex Telles levelled the scores following a brace from Soufiane Rahimi.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, could have put the game to bed but missed this gilt-edged chance from three yards.
The 39-year-old must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when Alex Telles made it 3-3 on aggregate.
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Here's how fans on social media reacted to the miss.
One said: "No banter this is one of the worst misses I've ever seen in my life," while another commented: "Probably the worst CR7 miss I can recall."
A third wrote: "Even the GOAT misses these chances."
Ahead of Monday's clash against Al Ain, Ronaldo argued the incident that earned him a one match ban in Saudi Arabia is "not shameful" and is "very normal" in Europe.
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Last month the experienced forward was banned for one game by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation after responding to chants of "Messi" by pointing to his crotch.
Ronaldo was judged to have violated Article 57-1 of the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations, which reads: "Any person who causes public excitement by action, word, or gesture during any match shall be suspended for one match, and shall be punished with a fine of 10,000 riyals."
Since serving the ban, Ronaldo has explained his actions and claimed he did not mean to cause offence.
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"I will always respect the cultures of all countries, as I have respected to this day, but not always what people see is reality," he said during a press conference.
"As I said and I will say again, it is obvious that I will not do it again in this country, but in Europe, it is very normal. "Sometimes the passion and excitement of the game leads us to make some mistakes."
Featured Image Credit: CBS SportsTopics:ย Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi Pro League, Saudi Arabia
