RIYADH: Portuguese celebrity Cristiano Ronaldo faces a wait to make his Al Nassr debut for the reason that Saudi membership have exceeded their quota for international gamers, membership assets advised AFP on Thursday. When he was once unveiled with nice fanfare on Tuesday, the 37-year-old stated he was once prepared to play once conceivable, beginning with Thursday’s house recreation in opposition to Al Ta’ee.
However Ronaldo, whose deal is value an estimated 200 million euros to June 2025, is Al Nassr’s 9th international participant – another than the 8 allowed through Saudi soccer government. The sport on the 25,000-capacity Mrsool Park was once in the end postponed for an afternoon till Friday over “electric faults” led to through heavy rain, the Saudi Professional League stated.
“Al Nassr has now not registered him but as a result of there’s no emptiness for a international participant,” one Al Nassr reputable, who didn’t need to be named as a result of he was once now not licensed to talk to media, advised AFP. “A international participant should depart to sign in Ronaldo, both through promoting or through terminating the contract through mutual consent,” the reputable added.
Al Nassr’s international contingent comprises Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo and forwards Anderson Talisca of Brazil and Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon. Saudi stories stated Uzbek midfielder Jaloliddin Masharipov was once perhaps to make approach for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League file scorer. A 2nd membership supply showed that Ronaldo was once now not registered as of Thursday afternoon native time. “There are ongoing negotiations to promote some of the gamers, however they have got now not reached their ultimate phases but,” he stated.
Two-match ban
Al Nassr’s first recreation since Ronaldo’s arrival will now be hung on Friday at Mrsool Park, within the capital Riyadh, after an engineering file raised protection issues, the Saudi Professional League stated. The stadium “was once not able to host the tournament, because of the heavy rain that ended in electric faults in lights the stadium and the gates, according to the engineering file, and within the passion of the protection of the gamers and the attendees, the tournament was once postponed”, a commentary stated.
Mrsool Park, the place Ronaldo was once unveiled to fireworks and deafening cheers from a capability crowd on Tuesday, was once bought out as soon as once more for Thursday’s scheduled recreation. Each membership officers refused to verify whether or not Ronaldo nonetheless had to serve a two-match English Soccer Affiliation ban issued in November for hitting a cell phone out of a teenage fan’s hand after Manchester United, his membership on the time, misplaced to Everton.
The Saudi Soccer Affiliation referred questions concerning the tournament ban to Al Nassr. On Tuesday, the Portuguese ahead stated he was once on the lookout for a brand new problem through coming to Saudi Arabia, including that he had gained provides from world wide. “I’m a singular participant. It’s just right to come back right here, I broke all of the information there (in Europe) and I need to destroy a couple of information right here,” Ronaldo stated. Amnesty Global recommended him to talk out about human rights problems within the deeply conservative monarchy, calling his transfer a part of a “wider trend of sportswashing”, or the use of recreation to deflect grievance. – AFP