How is the “Ronaldomania” living in Saudi Arabia before the presentation of Cristiano Ronaldo

The Saudi club Al-Nassr presents to its fans this Tuesday the most important signing in its history, Cristiano Ronaldo, a first initiative in the “galactic” dreams of its very rich and ambitious owners.

The 37-year-old striker, who arrived in Riyadh on Monday, will be officially presented at the capital’s Msool Park stadium, with a capacity of 25,000, this Tuesday starting at 19:00.

As proof of the extreme attraction exercised by the Portuguese forward, the club has received around 130,000 requests from fans eager to have one of the tickets on sale for just under four dollars, a sum that will go to charity.

Saudi Arabia, a desert country of 35 million, has been rocked by “Ronaldomania” since the announcement of his signing for an estimated salary of 200 million euros ($214 million) until June 2025.

The main streets of the capital were covered with posters with the phrase “Hala (welcome) Ronaldo”; fans line up in the street to buy Al-Nassr T-shirts with the name of the Portuguese champion and his emblematic No.7; The Gialloblù club’s Instagram account gained millions of followers in just a few hours.

“Asia has never seen anything like it,” reports the Dubai-based English-language Gulf News. “Wherever he goes, he will attract attention and although only 10% of his followers are interested in his new club, the Saudi League will become one of the most followed in the world.”

With this blow, Al-Nassr wants to give a boost to a team founded in 1955, whose last national title came in 2019 and which is eager to win the Asian Champions League, in which its Saudi rival Al-Hilal is the last champion and the one with the most continental titles.

“CR7”, with his five Golden Balls and his five Champions Leagues, a competition in which he is the top scorer of all time, is the head of the gondola of a project that wants to grow.

A former Real Madrid teammate, Croatian midfielder Luka Modric, is in the club’s sights, as is Chelsea’s French midfielder N’Golo Kante, according to a club official, who requested anonymity.

“We celebrate Ronaldo (Tuesday) and we will continue working to have more top-level signings,” he said, saying Al-Nassr wants to attract “new Galacticos”, a reference to 2000s Real Madrid and its stars., from the Portuguese Luis Figo to the English David Beckham, passing through the Brazilian Ronaldo and the French Zinédine Zidane.

Ronaldo landed in Riyadh a few weeks after being eliminated by Portugal in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, the first Gulf country to host the top competition. Saudi Arabia dreams of imitating its wealthy neighbor, with a possible bid for the 2030 edition with Egypt and Greece.

His arrival has turned the spotlight on the Saudi petromonarchy, already present in high-level sports with Formula 1, boxing or golf, and with a consortium from this country that has bought the English club Newcastle.

Some denounce a “sportswashing” strategy, an attempt by the conservative regime led by Prince Mohammed Ben Salman to overshadow criticism of his human rights record.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, this march towards Riyadh seems like a golden exile, as Pep Guardiola (Al Ahli) and Xavi Hernández (Al Saad) did before him in Qatar, more than a real sporting challenge.

Within the club she will be led by Frenchman Rudi Garcia and will be joined by foreign players such as Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo and Cameroonian striker Vincent Aboubakar.