Cristiano Ronaldo's time in Saudi Arabia has yet to deliver the success he envisioned. This time, Al Nassr's elimination from the King’s Cup has dealt another blow to the Portuguese forward's hopes for a team trophy since joining the club in January 2023. With this latest loss, Ronaldo now counts nine missed opportunities to claim a title in his Saudi Arabian journey.

To date, the only title Ronaldo has managed to secure with Al Nassr is the Arab Club Champions Cup, an unofficial tournament that returned in 2023 after a long hiatus and will not be held in 2024. In official competitions, however, the story has been different. He has missed out on the Saudi Pro League twice, fell short in the Asian Champions League, lost the Saudi Super Cup three times, and now suffered back-to-back eliminations in the King’s Cup, with this latest loss coming in the Round of 16 against Al Taawon.

This latest defeat was especially painful, as Ronaldo had a last-minute chance to equalize the match in the 96th minute with a penalty kick. However, fate seemed to turn against him, as he missed the target, sending the ball over the crossbar—a rare misstep for Ronaldo, who had previously converted all of his penalties for Al Nassr. Despite the setback, he remained resilient, sharing on social media that “every challenge is an opportunity to grow.”

For Ronaldo, these nine missed attempts at team trophies have left him holding steady at 34 official titles earned with clubs like Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and with the Portugal national team. His current options for success in Saudi Arabia have narrowed to the league, where Al Nassr stands third, six points behind leaders Al Hilal, and the Asian Champions League, which will be no easy feat. The "curse" seems unbroken, and only time will tell if Ronaldo can finally reverse his fortunes in his Saudi Arabian venture.