Al-Nassr were beaten 4-0 by Al Ain on Tuesday night, and by the time Postecoglou reached the microphone the questions were less about the four goals conceded than about the man who had failed to score any.
Ronaldo had a first-half free kick tipped away by the Al Ain goalkeeper, but the numbers on the scoreboard belonged to Houssine Rahimi, who struck twice, his brother Soufiane, and Giorgos Giakoumakis. It was the heaviest defeat of Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr career.
“He has three goals in how many matches?”
Postecoglou was calm until a Saudi reporter put it to him that Ronaldo had “done nothing” in Al-Nassr’s last three games, and that the team had looked sharper in the matches he missed.
“Nothing? He has three goals in how many matches?” Postecoglou shot back.
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“It’s clear you don’t watch the matches. Or that you don’t see the match the way I see it.”
Pressed again on the same point, he cut across the questioner.
“Did he not score in three games? Did he not have chances today? Well, you’re watching a different game to me,” Postecoglou told reporters.
The Al-Nassr coach then aimed a longer answer at anyone questioning Ronaldo’s usefulness to the squad.
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“You shouldn’t say that about somebody who is still setting an example for everyone. And you should be careful when you say things like that about people who have built a career on making all the sacrifices to keep playing.”
Postecoglou takes the blame
Postecoglou refused to shift the responsibility for the Al Ain defeat onto his players, and pointed to the workload his squad has carried since the summer.
“Cristiano has scored three goals already. He had a limited preparation for the season because of his participation in the World Cup. This is not about the players. The players are giving everything, and they’re top players and they’ve got great character. The responsibility is mine, OK? It’s mine,” he said.
He also asked the room to look at the fixture list before deciding Al-Nassr’s start was a failure.
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“In the hottest part of the year, you have nine games. Have a look at how many they have played in the same time.”
First job since the Forest sacking
Al-Nassr confirmed Postecoglou as their head coach on 3 July 2026 on a two-year deal, after Jorge Jesus left the club having just delivered the Saudi Pro League title. It is Postecoglou’s first job since being sacked by Nottingham Forest last October after 39 days in charge, and follows his Europa League win with Tottenham and a treble at Celtic.
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