Facing Lionel Messi, saying the wrong country and registration issues: Cristiano Ronaldo’s weird and wonderful first week in Saudi Arabia
The start of the new year generally marks a moment of change within the majority of the population – some try to eat healthier, while others change jobs or move. For Cristiano Ronaldo, however, the start of 2023 marked a seismic shift that saw him leave Europe for the first time in his life and head for Saudi Arabia, where he signed for Al-Nassr.
On December 30, 2022, Al-Nassr and Ronaldo reached an agreement that the Portuguese star would join the club on January 1, 2023. Since then, he’s been through a pretty tumultuous period (to say the least) that shows no signs of slowing down. down – after all, he is one of the greatest footballers who ever lived.
But what exactly has happened since Al-Nassr announced the arrival of the 37-year-old to the Middle East ten days ago? Four Four Two reveals everything.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s weird and wonderful first week in Saudi Arabia
Signing one of the most high-profile sports stars in the world will inevitably cost quite a bit of money, whether or not they are a free agent as Ronaldo was in December after he and Manchester United mutually agreed to terminate his contract early.
However, details emerged that Ronaldo would earn £170 million a year from his blockbuster contract, which included commercial and sponsorship deals. He also received £88 million in a sign-up bonus.
While Al-Nassr pays a ridiculous premium for Ronaldo’s services, his impact on the club’s following has been astronomical. Indeed, prior to joining, Al-Nassr had about 850,000 followers on Instagram — now, less than a week after the official unveiling, more than 10 million people now follow the Saudi side on the social media platform.
At his unveiling on Tuesday, December 3, 25,000 people gathered in Al-Nassr’s Mrsool Park in the capital Riyadh, every fan eager to catch a glimpse of the former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker.
While he managed to unfazed those dignitaries, Ronaldo had a somewhat awkward slip of the tongue during his first press conference as an Al-Nassr player. Ronaldo spoke passionately about the move, saying he was proud to “come to South Africa”.
Unfortunately, that was not the last proof of the controversy surrounding the Portuguese player. Due to an FA-imposed suspension for knocking an Everton fan’s phone out of hand at Goodison Park last April, Ronaldo was unable to play two league games for Al-Nassr, meaning fans will have to be patient and wait to get their idol to see. just a little while.
Al-Nassr declined to confirm whether they would respect the ban in the time between his revelation and the first match last Friday, against Al Ta’ee. In the end, the club relented without commenting further on the matter. His debut in the Al-Nassr colors in the Saudi Pro League will have to wait until Sunday, January 22, when they face Ettifaq.
In between, however, there could be an even more anticipated match that he is expected to be involved in. Paris-Saint Germain, with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in their ranks, will contest an exhibition match on January 19 against an XI made up of players from Al-Nassr and Saudi Arabian champion Al Hilal.
The last time Messi and Ronaldo played each other was in December 2020 in a Champions League match, when the latter’s Juventus won 3-0 against Messi’s Barcelona, ​​thanks to two Ronaldo goals.
Al-Nassr manager Rudi Garcia said Ronaldo is likely to play, although of course it will not be for his side.
“It [Ronaldo’s debut] won’t be with the Al Nassr jersey. It will be a mix between Al Hilal and Al Nassr,” he said.
Finally, the rules of the Saudi Pro League stipulate that clubs can include a maximum of eight foreign players in their squad at a time. Consequently, Ronaldo could not actually register for the side that topped the league, as he represented the ninth foreign player.
Therefore, Cameroonian World Cup star Vincent Aboubakar has reportedly had his contract terminated to make way for Cristiano Ronaldo, and is expected to play for a European side in the coming weeks.
Phew, do you have all that? Wherever Ronaldo goes, the drama always seems to follow.
#Facing #Lionel #Messi #wrong #country #registration #issues #Cristiano #Ronaldos #weird #wonderful #week #Saudi #Arabia
