An SMS from Benzema would have triggered Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike at Al-Nassr.

According to the English press, a message sent by Karim Benzema, while on his way to Al-Hilal, is said to have intensified Cristiano Ronaldo’s unease and fueled his standoff with Al-Nassr’s management.

A simple private message would have lit the fuse. According to several independent sources, an SMS sent by Karim Benzema contributed to weakening Cristiano Ronaldo’s mindset and to precipitating the standoff engaged by the Portuguese star with Al-Nassr. The information emerged in the wake of Benzema’s departure from Al-Ittihad in January, after tensions with his environment. The French striker ultimately joined Riyadh on the last day of the transfer window, leaving Jeddah and the reigning champions to sign with Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr’s direct rival.

Already upset by the closing of the transfer window, Cristiano Ronaldo refused to play the last two matches of his team, a move interpreted as a disguised strike. According to The Telegraph, this decision would have come after receiving a message from Benzema, at a moment when his transfer to Al-Hilal was close to being finalized. According to a source close to the matter, the former Ballon d’Or would have informed Ronaldo of his imminent arrival with the Blues of Riyadh, not without a touch of humor. Benzema would have notably mentioned a salary revaluation and the prospect of winning the championship title. A joke not well received by Ronaldo, who would have seen in this move a manifest imbalance between the ambitions of the two clubs.

According to the same sources, Cristiano Ronaldo would have transmitted a list of demands to his management to end his move. In the absence of guarantees, the five-time Ballon d’Or would not rule out an early departure, despite a contract still running for two more seasons.