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Reports of a supposed clash between Cristiano Ronaldo's teammates at Al Nassr, Aymeric Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic have surfaced. The two European stars were seemingly involved in a heated scuffle before their side took on Al-Fayha in the Round-of-16 stage in the AFC Champions League, as per GOAL.
The Knights of Najd entered the second leg of the game with a slender 1-0 lead of 1-0 over their opponents. But things reportedly got heated when former Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic was spotted trying to confront his teammate Aymeric Laporte.
The 31-year-old Croatian was visibly agitated and had to be restricted by his Saudi Arabianteammate Ali Lajami before he could convey his thoughts to Laporte.
Despite the pre-game altercation, Al-Nassr found no difficulties in breezing past their opponents, winning the game 2-0 thanks to goals from Otavio and Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to be in his stride on the pitch, manager Luis Castro also appeared to be unfazed by the reported scuffle between his two players. Addressing the press after the match, Castro stated (via GOAL):
"These confrontations can be a positive thing."
Despite Ronaldo's prolific goalscoring exploits this term, which has seen him register 21 goals and nine assists in the SPL, Al-Nassr currently trail Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal by seven points in the table.
Castro's men would be hoping to close the gap in their next league fixture, scheduled to take place against Al-Shabab on Sunday, February 25.
Aymeric Laporte recently contradicted Cristiano Ronaldo's statements about the Saudi league
The Real Madrid legend raised many eyebrows when he claimed that the Saudi Pro League is currently in a better position than Ligue 1. However, everyone does not seem to agree with his views, with teammate Aymeric Laporte providing contrasting opinions.
In an interview with Diario AS, the ex-Manchester City defender commented on the change from Europe to Saudi Arabia, stating:
"They haven't made it easy for us. In fact, there are many players who are dissatisfied...they take everything lightly."
Talking about the player's motivation to come to the Middle East, as well as his experience living in Riyadh, Laporte said:
"To be honest, many of us have also come here not only for football. In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here you spend three hours a day in the car. Riyadh is a waste of traffic."
These quotes by arguably the most valuable defender of the Saudi Pro League are in contrast to what has been said by Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite his contentious claims, Laporte continues to star for Al-Nassr, having played 25 games for the Saudi giants across all competitions this term.
