Cristiano Ronaldo tears Karim Benzema away from his Portuguese teammate after taking advantage of Real Madrid’s legendary celebration

Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a blow to his Saudi Pro League title hopes in a heated clash with Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner and his Al-Nassr team visited the league leaders on Friday evening.

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It was a reunion for the Real Madrid icons, who are the club’s all-time top scorers with a total of 804 goals.

Before the game, the two hugged in the tunnel and prepared to lead their teams out as captains.

In the second half, however, tempers almost boiled over.

In a frantic ten minutes, Benzema gave the hosts the lead before Ronaldo equalized just two minutes later.

But just moments later, Ronaldo’s Portuguese team-mate Otavio clashed with the French striker.

Benzema and the Al-Nassr winger exchanged a few words in front of the referee before Ronaldo intervened.

The former Manchester United striker could be seen speaking into his old pal’s ear before leading him away.

His attempts to calm tensions seemed to work as none of the players were sacked after the incident, only warned.

However, it would still be heartbreaking for Ronaldo as the 39-year-old’s hopes of a title became increasingly distant.

Former Tottenham winger Steven Bergwijn scored the winner for Al-Ittihad in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win.

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With this result they extend their lead at the top of the table, while Al-Nassr have now fallen to fourth place.

Ronaldo now has to overcome an 11-point deficit to win his first title since joining Al-Nassr early last year.

Friday’s clash was the last before the Saudi Pro League’s winter break, with Ronaldo ending 2024 with 43 goals.

It has also improved its record against Benzema since the pair moved to the Middle East.

Their only previous meeting took place on Boxing Day 2023, again at Al-Ittihad’s Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium.

Ronaldo scored twice in the 5-2 away win, but the result was not enough to secure his side the title.

Instead, Al-Nassr ended the campaign 14 points behind champions Al-Hilal.

Meanwhile, Al-Ittihad finished three places behind in fifth place, over 40 points behind the top spot.