Cristiano Ronaldo has been formally introduced to followers at his new Saudi Arabian membership, the place he acquired a thunderous welcome.
Cristiano Ronaldo described himself as a “distinctive participant” and insisted his profession was not over as he acquired a thunderous welcome at his new membership, Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
The Portuguese celebrity, 37, stated on Tuesday that he had achieved all he might in Europe and was hungry for a brand new problem as he was greeted by fireworks and deafening roars at Al Nassr’s Mrsool Park stadium within the capital Riyadh.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, with 5 Champions League titles to his identify, signed for an estimated 200 million euros ($211m) till June 2025 not lengthy after his acrimonious cut up with Manchester United.
“It’s not the top of my profession to return to Saudi Arabia. That is why I modify and, to be trustworthy, I’m actually not nervous about what individuals say,” Ronaldo stated.
“In Europe my work is finished… I had many gives in Europe, many in Brazil, Australia, the US, even in Portugal,” he added. “Many golf equipment tried to signal me however I gave my phrase to this membership.”
The packed, 25,000-capacity stadium erupted when Ronaldo, wearing Al Nassr’s yellow and blue equipment, walked on the pitch, saluting the gang as fireworks and floodlights flashed round him.
His girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, carrying the standard black abaya or all-covering gown worn by most Saudi girls, adopted at a distance together with Ronaldo’s youngsters.
“I’m a novel participant. It’s good to return right here, I broke all of the information there [in Europe] and I need to break a couple of information right here,” Ronaldo stated earlier.
“I’m coming right here to win, to play, to get pleasure from, to be a part of the success of the nation and tradition of the nation,” he added.
Al Nassr coach Rudi Garcia stated the signing of Ronaldo was an enormous step for the Saudi Arabian league.
“In my life, I’ve seen that nice gamers like Cristiano are the best to handle, as a result of there’s nothing I can train him,” Garcia instructed reporters.”Like he stated, we're right here to win, nothing else. I need him to get pleasure from taking part in with Al Nassr and successful with Al Nassr, simply that.”
Ronaldo joins the nine-time Saudi champions simply weeks after his departure from United following a TV interview during which he criticised the membership and coach Erik ten Hag.
‘Best participant on the earth’
Al Nassr, the nine-time Saudi league champions, signify a major drop in requirements for the Portuguese ahead, who spearheaded title-laden campaigns with United, Actual Madrid and Juventus.
Othman Al Twaijri, a soccer analyst, stated Ronaldo’s signing will encourage the Saudi league to attain better success.
“The quantity of funding in Saudi soccer … within the kingdom has been huge and I feel it’s solely going to go up from right here,” Al Twaijri instructed Al Jazeera.
“They’re going to attempt to get massive names – who is aware of, possibly we would get Messi … [or] any of these gamers who you’d usually see go in the direction of beforehand China, beforehand Qatar, or … the US of America,” he stated, referring to Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi.
Al Twaijri stated he expects the Saudi league to develop into one of many “prime 10 on the earth” by the yr 2030, which is the yr Saudi Arabia expects to have carried out a plan that seeks to diversify the dominion’s financial system and cut back its dependence on oil.
Ronaldo arrives simply weeks after the World Cup in neighbouring Qatar, and as Saudi Arabia considers a joint Asia-Africa-Europe bid to host soccer’s greatest event with Egypt and Greece.
Effectively earlier than his arrival, supporters carrying yellow “Ronaldo 7” flags and blue-and-yellow Al Nassr scarves turned up on the stadium, a few of them searching for tickets.
Adam Seddik, an Al Ittihad fan from Jeddah, stated he drove 900km (560 miles) to Riyadh to witness the spectacle.
“His presence will elevate the Saudi league worth and its viewership,” stated Seddik. “He's the best participant on the earth.”
Pleasure is at a fever pitch over the arrival of Ronaldo, the highest-profile participant to return to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf or any nation within the Asian confederation.
Followers queued down the road to purchase Ronaldo’s Al Nassr shirt together with his trademark quantity seven, and Al Nassr’s Instagram web page gained hundreds of thousands of recent followers after his signing was made public.
Ronaldo’s signing comes towards the backdrop of a Saudi push into sports activities together with golf, boxing, tennis and F1 in addition to soccer, following the Saudi takeover of English Premier League membership Newcastle United final yr.
Saudi Arabia, led by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will host upcoming editions of the Asian Video games and Asian Winter Video games, in addition to soccer’s males’s and ladies’s Asian Cups.
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