Tuesday 3 January 2023 – 10.59 pm
By / Ahmed Zahran ..
ABU DHABI, 3rd January 2020 (WAM) — Even before touching the ball with his new team on the pitch, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, has made his mark with his new club, Al-Nasr, Saudi Saudi, by participating in a record attendance at the player’s presentation ceremony to the club’s fans.
Al-Nasr Club held a party to receive and introduce Ronaldo today at ‘Marsool Park’ stadium in the capital, Riyadh, ahead of the player’s career with the club in the upcoming period.
Al-Nasr had signed Ronaldo on a two-and-a-half season contract to support the team, which currently tops the Saudi league, after 11 rounds of competition.
Once tickets for the Player’s Reception were released, they sold out in less than two hours amid a huge and legendary turnout of adoring fans of the team.
Reports indicated that demand for tickets to attend the concert amounted to more than 100,000 fans within hours of tickets going on sale, leaving Ronaldo this first mark with his new squad.
Ronaldo arrived yesterday in Riyadh on his private plane, accompanied by his family, to attend the reception and start his career with the team.
Ronaldo wore the Al-Nasr club number 7 shirt as he entered the ‘Marsol Park’ stadium to greet the fans who filled the stadium to the end to watch the Portuguese national team captain.
A light show was presented to coincide with Ronaldo’s entrance onto the pitch, where the former Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus star shook hands with some of the children who were in the corridor leading to the pitch before go say hello to the fans.
Prior to his introduction to the stadium, Ronaldo attended a press conference to introduce him to the media, during which he and his family expressed their happiness at the move to Saudi Arabia, praising the warm welcome he received in Riyadh.
Ronaldo said: “This is not only a new opportunity, but also to change the mentality of the new generation. I have received offers from different clubs in Brazil, Australia, America and even Portugal, but I have given my word to this club, and me and my family feel happy here in saudi arabia and i want to play and win tournament and enjoy football with fans. .
He added: “I’ve broken all the numbers in Europe and I want to break some numbers here. This contract is unique because I’m also a unique player. I don’t care what people say about my move to Saudi Arabia, and I know the League saudi has a great competitive spirit and i have seen many games before coming here.
Today, Ronaldo underwent a medical in preparation for joining group training for his new team, Al-Nasr.
Ronaldo transmitted a photo of himself through his official account on the “Instagram” network, during the medical examination, and through it he confirmed that he had passed the exam in preparation for his entry into the training group after his arrival in Riyadh to start his career with Al Nasr.
According to Saudi reports, fans were rushing to book tickets to attend Ronaldo’s presentation ceremony. The park’s stadium has 30,000 fans.
Ronaldo ended his relationship with Manchester United last November after relations between the two parties soured following the veteran player’s criticisms of the club and its manager, Eric Ten Hag, in a media interview with the player before his participation with the Portuguese national team at the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo has a successful career with clubs he has played for, including England’s Manchester United, Spain’s Real Madrid and Italy’s Juventus, and the experience the great player has amassed is expected to be good support for Ronaldo’s squad. Al-Nasr in the future period.
Awad Mukhtar/ Ahmed Zahran/ Mustafa Badr El-Din
