Cristiano Ronaldo to Be Introduced to Al Nassr Fans This Tuesday Night

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - World famous Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is about to be introduced to thousands of Al Nassr supporters, this Tuesday evening, January 3, 2023. This was announced by a spokesperson of the Saudi Arabian club on Monday.

Al Nassr surprisingly signed the superstar from Portuguese for 200 million euros. The 37-year-old megastar arrived late Monday with his family along with the media and technical staff, the club's spokesman, Al-Walid Al-Muhaidib, told AFP.

After ending his contract early with Manchester United, Ronaldo is going to appear at Mrsool Park stadium, the home of Al Nassr. He is scheduled to appear at 19:00 local time or 23:00 WIB (Western Indonesian TIme).

The latest and possibly the final chapter in Ronaldo's illustrious career comes weeks after Portugal exited in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Qatar, with the tournament ended fruitfully for Lionel Messi and Argentina lifting the World Cup Trophy.

Ronaldo's recruitment until June 2025 is the latest breakthrough for Saudi top-level sports, which has previously held other sports such as Formula 1, boxing, golf, and a takeover of Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Al Nassr expected full stadiums during the introduction of Ronaldo who is by far the biggest star to have played in Saudi Arabia's national club, although the likes of George Weah, Pep Guardiola and Xavi have also played for a club of the gulf nation.

Al Nassr, who has won the Saudi League nine times, said Ronaldo's purchase would do more than create history but also inspire the entire league and even the Saudi nation.

Saudi Minister of sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal promised: "to support our other clubs to quickly reach quality agreements with international stars."

United ended Ronaldo's contract during the World Cup claiming to be caused after the interview in which he admitted he felt betrayed by his club and disrespected by coach Erik ten Hag.

The Portuguese footballer was long being one of football's highest-paid players, earning 31 million euros at Juventus before taking a pay cut to return to Manchester United.

Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), the Italian League twice (2019, 2020) with Juventus, the Spanish League twice (2012, 2017) with Real Madrid, and the Premier League three times with United (2007, 2008, 2009).

He is also the top scorer in the Champions League and the Portugal national team which he helped win the UEFA Cup in 2016.

In Qatar, he became the first person to score in five World Cups with a penalty that outed Ghana in the group-stage match.

ANTARA | IMAJI LASAHIDO (INTERN)

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