Portugal’s footballing superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived in Riyadh ahead of his grand unveiling before thousands of fans at Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr club.
The 37-year-old arrived in the Saudi capital late on Monday, December 2, 2023, concluding a deal worth an estimated 213 million euros, according to Al Ekhbariya state-run TV.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is accompanied by a sizable entourage and is staying at a five-star hotel in the city.
“He brought a big team of assistants and even a private security firm,” an official told the AFP news agency.
According to officials, Ronaldo left Manchester United under fire after slamming the club in a TV interview.
The footballing superstar will appear at Al Nassr’s 25,000-capacity Mrsool Park stadium in Riyadh on Tuesday at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT).
Ronaldo is by far the most famous player to have played in Saudi Arabia, but other legends like George Weah, Pep Guardiola, and Xavi also spent time there in the twilight of their careers.
Ronaldo has five Champions League titles to his name, as well as league titles in Italy with Juventus, Spain with Real Madrid, and England with Manchester United.
He is also the Champions League and Portuguese national team’s top scorer, with whom he won Euro 2016.
With his penalty in the group-stage win over Ghana at the recent World Cup 2022 in Qatar, he became the first man to score in five World Cups.
He is also one of the highest-paid. The Portuguese forward earned a reported salary of 31 million euros ($33m) at Juventus before taking a pay cut to rejoin Manchester United.
Al Nassr, the nine-time Saudi league champions, has called Ronaldo’s signing “more than history in the making”, claiming he will inspire the rest of the league and even the country.
In a tweet, Saudi Sports Minister Prince Abdul – Aziz bin Turki Al Faisal pledged to “support the rest of our clubs for quality deals with international stars soon”.
Source: Aljazeera news