According to club insiders, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait to make his Al Nassr debut because the Saudi club has reached its international player quota.
When he was presented on Tuesday, the 37-year-old stated that he wanted to play as soon as possible, beginning with Thursday’s home game against Al Ta’ee.
However, Ronaldo, whose contract is worth an estimated 200 million euros until June 2025, is Al Nassr’s eighth international player, one more than the Saudi football officials allow.
“Al Nassr has not yet registered him because there is no opening for a foreign player,” one club official told AFP, declining to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“A foreign player must depart to register Ronaldo, either by selling or by mutually cancelling the contract.”
Al Nassr’s foreign contingent includes Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo, and Brazilian and Cameroonian attackers Anderson Talisca and Vincent Aboubakar.
According to Saudi media, Uzbek midfielder Jaloliddin Masharipov would most likely be replaced by the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League record scorer.
According to a second club source, Ronaldo was not registered as of Thursday afternoon local time.
“Negotiations to sell one of the players are ongoing, but they have not reached their final stages,” he stated.
Both officials refused to say whether Ronaldo still had to serve a two-match English Football Association punishment he received in November for striking a mobile phone out of the palm of a young fan after Manchester United, his club at the time, lost to Everton.
Questions about the match suspension were directed to Al Nassr by the Saudi Football Association.
Mrsool Park, Al Nassr’s 25,000-seat stadium, is sold out for Thursday’s game, as it was on Tuesday when Ronaldo was greeted with fireworks and thunderous chants.
The Portuguese forward stated at the time that he was searching for a new challenge and that he had had offers from all over the world.
“I’m a one-of-a-kind player. It’s great to be here; I smashed all the records there (in Europe), and I’d want to break a few more here,” Ronaldo added.
Amnesty International urged him to speak out about human rights issues in the very traditional monarchy, describing his actions as part of a “broader trend of sportswashing,” or the use of sport to deflect criticism.
