Al-Nassr of Cristiano Ronaldo played in front of an odd group of cardboard cutouts in Iran during the opening match of the Asian Champions League behind closed doors.

Since 2016, when a group of Iranian militias known as the Basij raided the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Saudi Arabian teams have refused to play in Iran.

Cristiano Ronaldo played a behind closed doors game in Iran on TuesdayCredit: Reuters

Cardboard cut-outs of fans were placed on seats around the stadiumCredit: AFP

But recently, ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran have improved.

Ronaldo and company decided to travel there for their AFC Champions League opener against Persepolis as a result.

As soon as Al-Nassr landed in the Middle Eastern country earlier this week, Ronaldo-mania spread throughout Iran as the superstar was surrounded by jubilant supporters.

However, none of them were able to witness their football hero in action since fans were not permitted in the Azadi Stadium.

They fortunately missed very little of Ronaldo’s miserable evening.

Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Mohammed Qassem’s second-half goals gave Al-Nassr a 2-0 victory.

The AFC penalized Persepolis for sending an insulting tweet regarding an Indian team in 2020, leading to the stadium ban.

And in circumstances reminiscent of the lockdown era, the club made the odd choice to cover the field with cardboard cutouts of its supporters.

Ronaldo struggled to have any impact on the gameCredit: Reuters

Al-Nassr’s bus was swarmed by fans trying to get a glimpse of RonaldoCredit: Al-Nassr

And while players like Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, and Aymeric Laporte easily won, it created for a spooky scene.

Ronaldo, though, had a forgettable game since he had little effect on the game.

That is a significant change from his recent Saudi Pro League performance, where he has seven goals in five games.

After six games, Al-Nassr has four victories and two losses, placing them sixth in their local league.

Since moving to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo has scored 21 goals in 26 games.