Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines for the wrong reasons in Al-Nassr’s Riyadh derby against Al-Hilal on Tuesday night. The 38-year-old ‘RKO’d’ an opponent in frustration as fellow Manchester United alumni member Odion Ighalo upstaged him in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Nassr entered the high-stakes clash knowing they could move level on points with Saudi Professional League leaders Al-Ittihad, having played a game more.
But Ronaldo and Al-Nassr’s opening 62 minutes couldn’t have gone much worse, courtesy of Ighalo.
The 33-year-old opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 42 minutes and netted his second spot kick in the 62nd.
And Ronaldo’s frustrations were clear as he was booked by referee Michael Oliver just moments before Al-Hilal doubled their lead.
The Portuguese icon locked eyes with an opposition player before leaping onto his back and seemingly getting him in some form of a headlock, pulling him to the ground.
His action mirrored an RKO, the popular finishing move of WWE megastar Randy Orton, which has gained a new lease of fame from millions of ‘outta nowhere’ meme videos online.
And many viewers took to Twitter to point out that Ronaldo seemed to take inspiration from the 14-time world champion on the pitch…
@ahmed_baokbah tweeted: “Cristiano Ronaldo in Riyadh derby said enough football, time for an RKO.”
@girlheartman wrote: “I don’t care Ronaldo RKO’d a fasting brother. He’s still the goat.”
@JanerteyQuaye joked: “Ronaldo hitting my man with the RKO finisher.”
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