Cristiano Ronaldo screams at referee as Al-Nassr qualify for AFC Champions League

Cristiano Ronaldo is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons today as he catches flak for screaming into a referee's face last night as Al-Nassr came from behind to defeat Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai in the AFC Champions League Playoffs.

Ronaldo was looking increasingly frustrated as his team fell 1-2 behind after the first half. The Portuguese star was caught by cameras shouting "wake up" at the officials after his side was denied multiple penalty opportunities.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner lost his cool as he endured a match which he felt was being unfairly officiated. On his way off the field, he also shoved a man who tried to catch a selfie with him as he was walking past.

Luckily for Ronaldo and his teammates, the night did not end in disaster after they managed to score three late goals to win 4-2, with two of those goals coming in stoppage time. Ronaldo did not manage to put his name on the sheet, but he provided an assist for Marcelo Brozovic, who scored in the 97th minute.

Frustrating year so far for Ronaldo

Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr only in January, and already a lot has happened in the Saudi Pro League. While the competition itself has transformed significantly thanks to the floodgates that Ronaldo opened, his stint has proven to be challenging so far.

He joined Al-Nassr with high hopes of winning the league trophy, but the club's dip in form in the crucial closing stages of the season saw them being overtaken by eventual champions Al-Ittihad. He did manage to lead the club to their first ever Arab Club Champions Cup title earlier this month, scoring two goals in the final against Al-Hilal.

However, things won't prove to be easier this season, as many of the other Saudi Pro League teams have managed to beef up their rosters with high calibre players from Europe. In fact, the reigning champions have signed Ronaldo's former Real Madrid teammate, Karim Benzema.

Al-Nassr have had a disastrous start to the new season, losing both opening games against Al-Ettifaq and Al-Taawon. This has contributed to Ronaldo's frustration, especially after missing out so narrowly on the league title in the previous campaign.

He has already scored 20 goals in 27 appearances for Al-Nassr across all competitions so far, meaning he has still been producing top level results. Ronaldo would have wanted to kick-start his first full season with the club on a high note, but that has not been the case.

They have not done themselves any favours with the opening losses in the league, and the competition has only gotten more difficult thanks to all the new reinforcements coming in for many of their rivals. Ronaldo has thrown a number of tantrums over the past few months, including fuming at his teammates at the bench as the crashed out of the King Cup.

He has also vented out his anger at a number of water bottles and cameramen in recent months.

Massive opportunity for a major trophy

On the upside, the victory against Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai earns Al-Nassr a slot in the AFC Champions League alongside Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal. This means he could potentially add an Asian Champions League trophy to his already impressive cabinet. Ronaldo has won five UEFA Champions League titles in his career during his time playing for Manchester United (2008) and Real Madrid (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), and an AFC CL crown could take the edge out of him if he manages to lead his team to glory.

Ironically, Ronaldo did not do himself any favours when he set out to elevate the quality of the Saudi Pro League. While many laughed at his claim just a few months ago that Saudi Arabia will be home to one of the top leagues in the world, it may actually become a reality sooner rather than later.

This transfer window alone, top players from Europe like Neymar Jr., Sadio Mane, N'Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firminho, Fabinho and many others have joined Saudi teams following Benzema's early summer move. The level of play will likely to go higher, and the competition will increasingly become tougher.