Hundreds of soccer fans stormed a Tehran hotel on Monday to get an up-close look at Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese star arrived with his teammates from Saudi club Al Nassr for an Asian Champions League match.
To the chorus of “Ronaldo, Ronaldo”, the fans managed to overwhelm the police, filling the corridors and public spaces of the Espians Palace hotel.
This is Cristiano’s first visit to Iran. Al Nassr will face the Iranian club Persepolis in Tehran on Tuesday. The teams will meet again in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on November 27.
Cristiano was one of the first renowned footballers to accept the juicy contracts offered by Saudi clubs. The kingdom, with its enormous oil wealth, is investing billions of dollars to transform itself into a sporting power.
These Asian Champions League matches have been possible after the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia following an agreement that had China as a mediator at the beginning of the years. The countries severed ties in 2016 after crowds entered Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran to protest Saudi Arabia’s execution of a popular Shiite cleric.
The 2015 edition of the Asian Champions League was the last time Saudi and Iranian teams met at home in the tournament.
2023-09-18 18:21:26
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