Following a shocking home upset to Gamba Osaka, representatives for Saudi-backed Al-Nassr have formally requested that the Asian Football Confederation discard the on-field result and award the Champions League Two trophy based on aggregate roster expenditures.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which controls the Riyadh-based club, filed a 40-page financial disclosure Monday morning in lieu of a match report. The filing argues that allowing a Japanese club with a $15 million annual payroll to defeat a roster featuring the highest-paid athlete in human history violates basic fiduciary principles and undermines the integrity of sovereign wealth deployment.
While we acknowledge that Gamba Osaka technically placed the ball into the net during the designated 90-minute fiscal quarter, a holistic review of our balance sheet clearly demonstrates that Al-Nassr is the rightful champion.
Ronaldo’s wait for a first major trophy in Saudi Arabia continues, though team executives have reassured the 39-year-old forward that his on-field deficit can likely be restructured into a championship via leveraged administrative acquisitions. The club’s legal team is reportedly negotiating a settlement with the AFC that would redefine the 1-0 loss as a strategic tax write-off, thus preserving the club’s undefeated financial record.
Gamba Osaka, whose entire operating budget is roughly equivalent to Ronaldo’s quarterly image-rights dividend, has respectfully declined Al-Nassr’s offer to retroactively purchase the winning goal. The AFC is expected to issue a ruling on the valuation-based victory metric ahead of next season, pending approval from its own private equity sponsors.