After Cristiano Ronaldo’s bombshell move to Al Nassr on a mega-money contract, all eyes are trained on the fixture list to see when the Portuguese legend will make his debut.
Having left Manchester United by mutual consent in early December following an infamous TV interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo found himself lacking any Champions League suitors – and instead opted to move to the cashed-up Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo has not yet been spotted in Saudi Arabia, but could feature for his new club against Al Ta’ee (Friday 6 Jan, 2am AEDT).
Having not played since Portugal’s final World Cup match – a 1-0 loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals on December 11 – fans might be forced to wait until Al Nassr’s next match.
That takes place against Al Shabab on January 15 (4.30am AEDT). Al Nassr currently hold top spot in the Pro League, with Al Shabab in second place – making it a mouth-watering potential debut for the 37-year-old.
His new club play in Mrsool Park, which has a capacity of 25,000.
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Ronaldo has another big match to look forward to in the coming weeks – a Saudi Super Cup semi-final against Al-Ittihad, the nation’s most popular club, on January 26 (5am AEDT).
But there’s one possible match that far outweighs any domestic clash.
In January 2022, Covid-19 forced the cancellation of a massive friendly match known as the Riyadh Season Cup.
It was set to be a friendly between French giants Paris Saint-Germain and a combined XI of
Al Nassr and Al Hilal players – meaning Cristiano Ronaldo could face off against the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe.
A new date has not yet been scheduled for the match, but it is reportedly set to take place in January 2023 – with the 19th (local time) the likeliest date.
PSG have a two-week gap between a match on 16 January and the 30th. Al-Nassr play on the 15th, 22nd, and 26th of January, and 4th of February.
Meanwhile, fans of Al Nassr have flooded the club store to purchase Ronaldo jerseys ahead of his arrival, and delivered a special chant for their new talisman at their most recent match.
In the seventh minute – reflecting Ronaldo’s iconic number seven shirt – fans cheered: “Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Siuuuu”