Cristiano Ronaldo Gets a Bruised Cheek from Being Punched by Keylor Navas Playing a Friendly Match During Riyadh Seasons

Cristiano Ronaldo gets punched in the face by Keylor Navas, scoring a successful penalty goal, losing to PSG 5-4, yet awarded the Man of the Match.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: January 20, 2023

Cristiano Ronaldo gets punched in the face, bruising his cheekbone by Keylor Navas, his former Real Madrid teammate in a debut soccer match in Saudi against Lionel Messi. The injury earned him a penalty, which Ronaldo converted. But despite a stellar performance of 2 goals scored in the first half, the team was defeated 5-4 by PSG. Cristiano was playing for All-Stars XI of Saudi Arabia against Paris Saint-Germain when running to head the ball to the box, the striker got accidentally hit by the goalkeeper Navas.

The friendly match played by the renowned striker, was a part of Riyadh Seasons, the state-sponsored Saudi festival. The team he is associated with was 1-0 down, when Cristiano headed the ball for a goal, rose above the defender, and Navas was storming toward him to punch the ball clear. But unfortunately, the blow caught the striker instead on the cheek, making him reel on the floor in pain as he grabbed his face. After consulting a pitch-side monitor, the referee announced a penalty and handed Navas a yellow card.

Ronaldo got a chance at the penalty in the 33rd minute of the game, and he scored easily. He also scored another goal before the half-time break. But this could not stop the PSG lined with Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Huge Ekitike, Sergio Ramos, and Marquinhos from winning. Ronaldo has joined Al-Nassr clinching the deal of £ 173 million per year after his unceremonious exit from Manchester United. He also won the Man of the Match for the said game and was awarded for the two goals and nutmeg on Carlos Soler.

Cristiano got a massive reaction from the crowd when in the 11th minute he picked the ball halfway and nutmegged Soler. He was also seen tackling Messi on different occasions as the audience had a great time watching them duel at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. As for Messi, the game was a brownie point after the Argentina team won the World Cup in Qatar, and now had the honor of being an ambassador for the tourism drive of Saudi Arabia.