Cristiano Ronaldo Hands Penalty to Sadio Mane in Match Against Rio Ave

Faro, Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo surprised fans during a pre-season friendly match Thursday night when he handed the penalty ball to teammate Sadio Mane. The match, held at Estadio Algarve, featured Al Nassr against the Portuguese club Rio Ave.

Al Nassr dominated the game, winning 4-0 with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick and Mohamed Simakan adding another goal. When the team was awarded a penalty in the 61st minute, many expected Ronaldo to take the shot himself.

Instead, he chose to let Mane take the penalty, likely to boost the forward’s confidence. However, Mane’s attempt was saved easily by goalkeeper Cezary Miszta, much to the dismay of fans. Shortly after the miss, Ronaldo scored again with a header, putting Al Nassr ahead 3-0.

Social media erupted with mixed reactions to Mane’s penalty miss. One fan noted, “Cristiano Ronaldo gave the penalty to Sadio Mane to boost his confidence, but Mane literally rolled it into the hands of the goalkeeper. WHAT A TOTAL WASTE!” Another user expressed disbelief, stating, “Player without confidence in SAUDI ARABIA? This can’t be real.” Many praised Ronaldo’s decision, calling him “the most humble player of all time.”

Some fans reacted to the penalty miss with humor, saying, “Oh man, that’s brutal! Giving someone a chance to boost their confidence and then having it backfire like that? Sadio Mane must be feeling some type of way. Guess CR7 won’t be giving him another chance anytime soon.” Another fan wondered, “What happened to Mane?”

Mane, who played 47 matches for Al Nassr last season with 18 goals and 14 assists, was left out of Senegal‘s squad for a post-season friendly against England in June. Senegal, without their star player, still won the match 3-1 with goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra, and Cheikh Sabaly.

Senegal’s coach, Pape Thiaw, explained Mane’s absence by stating, “It’s a personal decision that is his private business, and I respect that as a coach.” Mane received criticism after Senegal’s earlier results in World Cup qualifiers, where the team drew against Sudan and beat Togo in March.