Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Nassr’s side were well beaten by Al-Hilal on Tuesday but he wasn’t going to go down without putting up some sort of fight.
Odion Ighalo scored twice from the spot as Al-Hilal defeated Al-Nassr 2-0 to dent Ronaldo and his team-mates’ fading title hopes.
But rather than let his feet do the talking Ronaldo instead was booked while his side were 1-0 down just before the hour mark after making a challenge that appeared to resemble something more like you would see in a WWE ring.
The former Manchester United star leaped onto his opponent, wrapping his right arm around his neck before using his body weight to wrestle him to the ground.
Despite the rather overzealous conduct from the 38-year-old, he was only booked by former Premier League referee Michael Oliver who was officiating the game.
This was despite there being no clear attempt to play the aerial ball above their heads as he made his challenge.
With 15 minutes to go and his side 2-0 down, Ronaldo did eventually find the net after running onto a long ball before firing home, only to be controversially flagged offside.
Al-Nassr recently parted ways with manager Rudi Garcia amid reports of dressing room discontent, not least reportedly related to the Portuguese superstar Ronaldo
He was replaced by former youth team coach Dinko Jelicic, who took over as interim boss.
Needing a victory away at Al-Hilal to ensure they stayed in touch with the league leaders, they conceded twice from the spot courtesy of Ighalo.
It leaves Al-Ittihad three points clear at the top of the league, having played a game fewer.
Whether the choking incident was a response to an earlier clash between the pair during the game, verbally or otherwise, it’s a sign that you perhaps shouldn’t wind up Ronaldo on the pitch.
It comes as Rio Ferdinand revealed how he used to ‘bully’ Ronaldo while the duo were at Manchester United in a bid to toughen up the Portuguese star.
Lacking strength when he first joined the club 20 years ago, Ferdinand admitted that it was the job of the club’s experienced pros to toughen Ronaldo up for the physicality of the English top-flight.
Ferdinand explained the role that he and South African Quinton Fortune played in the youngster’s development, explaining on Australia’s Kyle and Jackie O show: ‘Me and a guy called Quinton Fortune… we used to take the mick out of him a lot.
‘(Ronaldo) was a lot younger than us at the time – borderline bullying, maybe, but it was just trying to, like, build him, build that resilience.’