Competitive debut for Saudi club
When cheering, Ronaldo is at the forefront
Cristiano Ronaldo is finally making his debut in a competitive game for his new club Al-Nassr. Despite the win, the 37-year-old has not yet proved on the pitch why he collects 200 million francs a year.
Published: 8:55 p.m
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Updated: 23 minutes ago
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Ronaldo (right) and his new teammates are happy about the 1-0
25,000 fans made the pilgrimage to Riyadh’s Msool Park on Sunday evening. They all want to see the man who collects CHF 200 million a year in Saudi Arabia: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Almost three weeks after his debut, the Portuguese finally makes his competitive debut for Al-Nassr. Before that, he was serving a suspension from his time at Manchester United. And the rust can still be seen in the five-time world footballer: Ronaldo runs, dribbles and shoots at every opportunity. A competitor like him, even at 37 and in an internationally irrelevant league, doesn’t want to do anything by the book.
But “CR7” doesn’t want to succeed much. Despite the usual meticulous preparatory work, he made a free kick over the goal. In the scene of the game, however, he is in the middle of it instead of just there: After a good half hour, a cross sails past Ronaldo to team-mate Talisca, who scores the only goal of the game with a header. And no one is as happy afterwards as the man everyone wanted to see score.
But that is no longer the case. Al-Nasser beat midfield club Al-Ettifaq 1-0 to defend their lead over city rivals Al-Hilal. Other opportunities will come for Ronaldo to justify the record investment in him. Because the contract runs until 2025, after which he should become an ambassador for the 2030 World Cup, for which Saudi Arabia wants to apply together with Greece and Egypt. (cmu)