Renowned soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo was jeered by fans with “Messi, Messi” chants after his team — Al Nassr — suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Al Hilal at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.

However, the football star kept his cool by responding to the unruly spectators with “flying kisses”.

The former Real Madrid star failed to score, even a single goal, against the rivals on Friday.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for the league leaders in the 64th minute, followed by a brace from star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic (89′, 90+2′), Hindustan Times reported.

At the ongoing 2023-24 Saudi Pro League season, Hilal are on top of the table with 41 points, ahead of Al Nassr (34) and Al Ahli Saudi (30).

Reacting to the fans’ slogans, the Manchester United legend laughed it off, and sent kisses to the fans, while walking off to the dugout.

It is pertinent to mention here that Ronaldo arrived in Saudi Arabia after the 2022 World Cup, in the winter transfer window, amid much pomp and fanfare.

Ronaldo started off on a strong note, but soon his form waned off and Al Nassr fell from the top spot in the Saudi Pro League, with Al Ittihad winning the title.

Football legends Ronaldo and Messi are set to face each other one more time in Saudi Arabia in February next year.

The duo recently faced each other on the football pitch earlier in January this year when Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain locked horns with Riyadh All-Stars XI with the former securing a 5-4 victory in the Kingdom.

Many believe that it would mark the final time Messi and Ronaldo shared a pitch as they near the end of their careers on different continents.

Both strikers have dominated international football for more than 10 years with Ronaldo winning his first of five Ballon d’Or awards in 2008 Over the next 14 years, he and Messi have shared the prestigious trophy 12 times.

Fans endlessly debated who was superior, but Messi’s record eight Ballon d’Ors and Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory have likely settled that argument.