With his two game FIFA ban now complete, Cristiano Ronaldo is primed for his debut with new club Al Nassr as they face Ettifaq on Sunday in Riyadh.
The football spotlight will, once again return to Riyadh on Sunday night as 37-year-old Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo is primed to make his first team debut for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. The striker’s deal with the Roshn Saudi League side runs for two-and-a-half years through to June 2025 with the player set to earn total salary of $231m per year once commercial agreements are also included. The deal is thought to be the highest salary ever paid to a professional footballer.
The striker from Madeira secured the move in late December last year after he and Manchester United decided to go their separate ways in an acrimonious split leaving the player as a free agent. The Portuguese has been unable to debut for his new team due to a FIFA ban after the player slapped a teenagers phone in a moment of frustration last April. The striker was hit with a $61,000 fine and two game ban which he has now served missing the SPL games against Al Ta’ee and Al Shabab.
Al Nassr’s current form
With 9 Saudi league championships to their name, Al Nassr are one of the biggest names traditionally in Saudi Arabia domestic football but do lag behind city rivals Al Hilal with the ‘Blue Waves’ the most successful club in Asia with 65 trophies.
As the 22/23 Roshn Saudi League heads towards the halfway mark of the season, Al Nassr are well positioned to make an assault for the league title as they traik Nuno Espirito Santos’ Al Ittihad by just one point having played a games less than the Jeddah based side. All three major title contenders: Al Ittihad, Al Nassr and al third placed Al Hilal have just been beaten once all season and it seems inevitable that one of the big three of Saudi football will claim the 20220-23 title.
Since moving to Riyadh at the end of 2022, Al Nassr have recorded two wins and a draw in their past three outings and will expect to secure maximum points on Sunday as tenth placed Ettifaq visit Mrsool Park where a capacity crowd will be in attendance to see Cristiano don the yellow shirt for the first time in a competitive game.
The Portuguese striker’s objective with his new club will focus on bringing the ‘Faris Najd’ domestic and continental success with the striker’s acquisition another powerplay in Saudi Arabia’s plan to project itself on a global scale through football with the Gulf nation believed to be planning a 2030 World Cup bid along with Egypt and Greece as partners.