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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating the goal against Al Shabab

Photo: Yasser Bakhsh / Getty Images

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo actually had every reason to be in a good mood after the game against Al Shabab.

His team Al-Nassr won 3-2 and the Portuguese scored himself.

But now there is apparently an aftermath, because Ronaldo has caused great excitement and criticism in Saudi Arabia with a gesture that was perceived as obscene.

In videos circulating on the Internet, the 39-year-old Portuguese appears to be gesticulating towards opposing fans and making hand movements in his lumbar area after Sunday's game.

Beforehand, he had briefly put his hand to his ear.

In the videos, shouts of “Messi” can be heard from the stands.

Lionel Messi is Ronaldo's long-time rival, particularly for awards of individual achievement.

According to media reports, the situation was not shown on TV, but videos of it quickly circulated on the Internet and caused outraged reactions in local media.

Accordingly, the Saudi Arabian football association SAFF is said to have initiated an investigation.

Ronaldo scored from a penalty in the first half of the win and leads the top scorers list with 22 goals.

Al Nassr is in second place in the table, four points behind Al Hilal.

Ronaldo's teammate with few warm words

Last summer, Saudi Arabian clubs started a transfer offensive with a lot of money and lured some well-known players and coaches to the country.

But at the moment it seems as if not all players share Ronaldo's enthusiasm.

Englishman Jordan Henderson moved to Ajax Amsterdam six months after his controversial move to Saudi Arabia.

At the end of January, Ronaldo's teammate Aymeric Laporte made unflattering comments about the living conditions and sporting conditions in Saudi Arabia.

He told the Spanish newspaper "As": "They didn't make it easy for us.

There are many players who are dissatisfied." In Saudi Arabia "everything is taken lightly" and in Europe more care is taken for the players.

"They care, but not enough for my taste," said Laporte about his experiences in Saudi Arabia.

He doesn't seem to be convinced by his private life there either.

"As far as quality of life is concerned, I expected something different because here you end up spending three hours a day in the car." In the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh you experience "a waste of time spent in the car."

jok/dpa