January 24, 2024, 03:08 PM
Football fans in China were left displeased after Saudi Arabian football club Al-Nassr postponed their tour of China due to superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's injury.
Videos circulated on social media that appeared to show angry fans rushing into the team's hotel on Jan. 23.
Ronaldo, 38, issued a public apology to fans about the situation on the same day.
What supposedly happened
Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) and Chinese social media platform Weibo supposedly show a crowd of fans rushing past the barricades and into the hotel lobby in Shenzhen, China.
The crowd in China are still going crazy for Cristiano Ronaldo.
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) January 23, 2024
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Chinese fans have STORMED the Al Nassr hotel in large numbers expressing their disappointment over Cristiano Ronaldo's inability to participate in the friendly.
— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) January 23, 2024
In some videos, fans can be heard chanting, "Ronaldo."
Training ahead of friendly matches with Chinese Super League clubs
The Al-Nassr team was in Shenzhen, training, ahead of their friendly matches with Chinese Super League clubs Shanghai Shenua and Zhejiang. The matches were scheduled for Jan. 24 and Jan. 28 respectively.
These matches are now postponed to a "date to be defined."
Al-Nassr posted a statement on X, which said a new match will be scheduled "the soonest," though no specific dates have yet to be set.
However, the team will be continuing their training camp in Shenzhen, before they are scheduled to play a friendly against Inter Miami on Feb. 1, where he was supposed to face off against rival Lionel Messi.
They would then play against Al-Hilal a week later before returning to compete against Al-Fayha in the AFC Champions League on Feb. 14.
Ronaldo apologises to fans
At a press conference, Ronaldo apologised to his fans and said, "“As you know, in football some things you cannot control. I have played 22 years in football and I am a player that doesn’t have too many injuries. "
"I have been coming to China since 2003/2004, so I feel at home here – my second home," he continued.
"I know you are sad too, especially the people who love Cristiano, but we have to see this in a good way. We have not cancelled the game, we want to push for the game and be back here. We will be back."
Regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time, Ronaldo's fanbase in China is prominent.
When the team arrived at the Shenzhen airport on Jan. 21, thousands of fans gathered in the building to welcome their arrival.
Top image via @GOATTWORLD/X and @CristianoXtra/X
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