Cristiano Ronaldo&#8217;s Al Nassr faced Jordan Henderson&#8217;s Al Ettifaq in a heated clash last month, but the former Manchester United superstar&#8217;s actions after the game spoke volumes
Cristiano Ronaldo showed his classy side by swapping shirts with Scotland international Jack Hendry after they&#8217;d been involved in a scuffle during a heated match in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo&#8217;s Al Nassr faced Hendry&#8217;s Al Ettifaq, who former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson plays for, in a King&#8217;s Cup tie on October 31. While hosts Al Nassr ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a late goal from Henderson&#8217;s ex-Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane, superstar Ronaldo was left furious at one stage and tussled with Hendry to turn up the heat in an already fiery affair.
Towards the end of the round-of-16 clash, the pair were seen aggressively jostling for possession and their limbs eventually became entangled. A seething Ronaldo felt that he deserved a free-kick and was raging with Hendry, yet the five-time Ballon d&#8217;Or didn&#8217;t hold a grudge after the full-time whistle, giving him his shirt.
&#8220;[It&#8217;s] really good to be playing against these types of guys,&#8221; Scottish centre-back Hendry, who&#8217;s managed by Steven Gerrard at the Saudi club, explained to BBC Sport. &#8220;Ronaldo is obviously one of the best players in the world and what he has achieved is amazing.
&#8220;To test myself against him and have that kind of tussle is always enjoyable. It was good to speak to him after and swap jerseys. I&#8217;ll keep that for a later date!&#8221;
<img decoding="async" src="https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article31458762.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_GettyImages-1774595086.jpg" data-tmdatatrack="inline-widget" data-tmdatatrack-articleid="31458762" data-tmdatatrack-visible="true" />Cristiano Ronaldo and Jack Hendry were involved in a scuffle last month ( Image: MB Media/Getty Images)<img decoding="async" src="https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article31458760.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_GettyImages-1774590775.jpg" data-tmdatatrack="inline-widget" data-tmdatatrack-articleid="31458760" data-tmdatatrack-visible="true" />The pair tangled limbs as Al Nassr faced Al Ettifaq in the King&#8217;s Cup ( Image: MB Media/Getty Images)
&nbsp;
Ronaldo became the face of football in the Middle East when he quit Manchester United a year ago and went on to sign for Al Nassr on a mega contract which sees him earn roughly £173million per year. Hendry isn&#8217;t quite on those eye-watering wages following his summer move from Club Brugge, but the 28-year-old is still loving life in Saudi.
&#8220;I think if you look at the standard of players going over, the league is going to continue to grow,&#8221; Hendry affirmed. &#8220;With them looking towards the World Cup [which Saudi Arabia will host] in 2034, I think there will be a real drive to improve the game. I am sure it will be one of the strongest leagues in the world very soon.&#8221;
Currently, Al Ettifaq sit seventh in the Saudi Pro League table, while Al Nassr are up in second place but trail title favourites Al Hilal by four points after 13 games. Fixtures will resume next weekend following the international break.