Football player Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Riyadh, on Monday, on the eve of his introduction to the Saudi Al-Nasr fans, the club he has been committed to for two and a half seasons. The information was provided by the public television channel Al-Ekhbariya, where it reported the arrival of the Portuguese international, who freed himself from England’s Manchester United “at the helm” of the World Cup in Qatar. Agence France-Presse adds that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was waiting outside the airport for a strong security apparatus, with police cars and checkpoints.
It is scheduled to present Cristiano Ronaldo, on Tuesday, at exactly seven o’clock in the evening (four o’clock in the evening in Lisbon), at the Marsool Park stadium, in Riyadh, with a capacity of 25 thousand seats.
According to a source from Al-Nasr, Cristiano Ronaldo, who will initially stay in a luxury hotel in the center of the capital, “brought with him a large number of assistants and even a private security company.”
The 37-year-old captain of the Portuguese national team is heading to Saudi football, after terminating his contract with Manchester United, whom he represented for the second time in 2021/22 and 2022/23, after a first period (2003/2009).
Before the start of the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo, who grew up in Sporting, and between his periods with the English, Real Madrid (2009/2018) and Juventus (2018/2022), admitted that he felt “betrayed” and disrespected in red. Devils, with whom he scored 145 goals in 346 games.
With 194 matches for Portugal’s main team, and 118 goals, he added 451 goals for Real Madrid, in “only” 438 matches and five for Sporting, in 31 matches.
Led by Frenchman Rudy Garcia, and with Brazilian Talisca (formerly Benfica) and Cameroonian Abu Bakr (formerly Porto), Al-Nasr ranks first in the Saudi League, after 11 rounds, with 26 points, and another point. Young people who have less match.
Al-Nasr won nine titles for the Saudi Championship, the last of which was in 2018/19.
