Al-Ittihad turn Ronaldo’s tactical curiosity into Saudi Clasico joke

Cristiano Ronaldo became the target of social media humour after television cameras captured him trying to read a tactical note during Al-Nassr’s Saudi Clasico against Al-Ittihad.

The incident happened during the fifth round of the Roshn Saudi League, when Ronaldo appeared to look over the shoulder of Al-Ittihad midfielder Danilo Pereira as the Portuguese forward attempted to see the instructions written on a piece of paper.

The note had been handed to Pereira by Al-Ittihad’s young German manager, Jens Wissing. Ronaldo, who is Al-Nassr’s captain, stood behind the player and leaned in to get a closer look at the message before it was taken on to the pitch.

Pereira soon realised what Ronaldo was doing. The Al-Ittihad player then burst out laughing after noticing that the former Portugal international was trying to discover what instructions Wissing had given his players.

The unusual exchange quickly became one of the most widely shared humorous moments from the match. Ronaldo appeared to be attempting to gain an insight into the opposition’s plans, creating a rare scene in which a leading player was seen trying to inspect tactical instructions from the other team.

Al-Ittihad’s official account on X added to the reaction by reposting a video of the moment. The club accompanied the footage with a teasing caption aimed at Ronaldo’s apparent attempt to monitor the instructions being exchanged on the touchline.

The caption read: “Is this what you learned from marking!?”

The joke referred to Ronaldo’s effort to keep track of what was happening around Al-Ittihad’s tactical discussions. Within minutes, the clip had moved beyond a light-hearted moment during the Clasico and become fresh material for the rivalry between supporters of the two clubs on social media.

The scene was recorded by the television broadcaster covering the meeting between Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, ensuring that Ronaldo’s attempt to read the note was seen by viewers before it spread online.

It was a brief exchange rather than a major incident in the match, but the combination of Ronaldo’s focused expression, Pereira’s reaction and Al-Ittihad’s playful response made it one of the most memorable images associated with the fixture.

The episode also provided another point of discussion for fans following the Saudi league, with the video prompting further interaction between the two sets of supporters across social media platforms.