Al-Harifi criticises Coman for not passing to Ronaldo in Al Nassr win

Former Al Nassr player Fahad Al-Harifi has criticised Kingsley Coman after the France international chose to finish a promising attack rather than pass to Cristiano Ronaldo during Friday’s 3-0 win over Al-Diriyah.

The incident prompted debate about decision-making and selfishness on the pitch, particularly when players are competing for attention in high-profile matches.

Ronaldo scored Al Nassr’s opening goal in the Saudi Roshn League eighth-round fixture, continuing his pursuit of a historic 1,000th career goal. The Portugal captain also created chances during a positive performance as Al Nassr secured another victory.

Speaking on the television programme Dorina Ghair, Al-Harifi said he had expected Coman not to release the ball to Ronaldo when the French forward broke clear, but added that he would have made a different decision.

“When Coman went through in the match, I said he would not pass it, but if I had been in his place, I would have passed it to Ronaldo,” Al-Harifi said.

“Coman is under pressure and is aiming to achieve stardom in the league. It seems he was more confident in himself and had a goalscoring instinct. Perhaps he also thought that Ronaldo was offside.

“Even Ronaldo’s morale was excellent. He scored and provided an assist.”

Al-Harifi suggested Coman’s decision could have been influenced by his desire to prove his ability and make an impression in the Saudi Roshn League. He also noted the pressure faced by high-profile players, while maintaining that passing to Ronaldo had been a possible option in the situation.

Despite the controversy surrounding the moment, Ronaldo remained in a positive mood and made a decisive contribution to the result against Al-Diriyah. His performance underlined his continued focus on the pitch as Al Nassr maintained their run of positive results and their challenge for top spot in the Saudi Roshn League.