Cristiano Ronaldo is set to miss Portugal's friendly clash against Sweden as Roberto Martinez made changes to his squad. Martinez had included the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in his preliminary 32-man squad but has now left him out of his team's next game against Sweden.

The incident was not caught on television cameras, but some Saudi pundits said Ronaldo should be sanctioned.

Ronaldo, who recently celebrated his 39th birthday, stood in line as Al-Nassr prepared to take on Al-Hilal, before the wrestling icon appeared. 

Al Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo said he ‘no longer believed’ in two of football’s greatest individual accolades after he won three awards at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Friday.

Chinese football fans raced on Wednesday to snap up tickets to see Cristiano Ronaldo play a rare match in their home country, with multiple online platforms selling out within a few hours.

Messi and Ronaldo, who have faced each other more than 30 times in their careers, have won 13 Ballon d'Or awards between them, with the Argentine leading that race eight to five.

Former England goalkeeper Shilton is acknowledged as the record holder for the most competitive men's professional games, though the total is disputed. Some statistics websites say the tally is 1,390 but Shilton himself, on his X feed, gives it as 1,387.

Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane and Anderson Talisca also scored for the Saudi side late Tuesday as they made it three wins from three in the group stages of the premier Asian club competition.

Senin Sebai scored on the break to put the club from Dushanbe in front with a minute left in the first half and Istiklol held out under relentless pressure until Ronaldo levelled with a clever clipped finish in the 66th minute.

The streets were crowded with fans who raised welcome banners and pictures of Ronaldo upon the arrival of the Saudi Arabian team in Iran after the restoration of relations between the two countries

Roberto Martinez's side have now won all six of their qualifying games, without conceding a single goal and scoring 24 themselves, with this the country's largest ever victory.

"If you love Cristiano Ronaldo, you don’t have to hate (Lionel) Messi. We have both changed the history of world football,” Ronaldo said during an interview during with Record, a Portuguese newspaper.

"I want more," the forward told a press conference before training with the national side at Oeiras, on the outskirts of Lisbon, ahead of upcoming European Championship qualifiers.

Ronaldo scored his sixth goal in his last three games and claimed two assists as Al Nassr recorded a third straight league victory. Sadio Mane was also on the scoresheet.

The Portuguese superstar got things underway in the 13th minute as he converted from the spot after a handball in the Al Shabab penalty area. He added to his tally five minutes later with a header only for the goal to be disallowed for a push on a defender.

This summer's transfer fees alone top $830 million, without counting the players' eye-watering wages, or Ronaldo's January signing in a deal which is said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years

The Saudi Pro League side came from behind to triumph 4-2 in the play-off at Mrsool Park, with Brazilian Anderson Talisca scoring twice and Croatia international Marcelo Brozovic rounding off the win. Nassr had been two minutes from exiting the tournament

The 31-year-old Neymar signed a two-year contract with the Riyadh-based club on Tuesday after spending six years with Paris St Germain, in a deal reportedly worth about 90 million euros ($98 million)

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in January to play for Riyadh-based Al-Nassr is what first drew global attention to ongoing efforts to boost the Saudi Pro League.

Cristiano Ronaldo guided 10-man Al-Nassr to their first ever Arab Club Champions Cup title after scoring twice in a 2-1 extra-time win over fellow Saudi side Al-Hilal on Saturday.