Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut at Al Nassr: magic on a tile, victory, leadership and madness in the stands

This Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo added his first official minutes in Al Nassr, who beat Al Ittifaq 1-0 with a goal from Anderson Talisca, in a match valid for the 14th date of the Pro League of Saudi Arabian football.

The former striker of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, among others, made his debut in the Riyadh squad, which he joined after the 2022 Qatar World Cup, with a contract until mid-2025 and salaries of over 200 million euros per season.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who will turn 38 on 5 February, played the full match for the side led by French coach Rudi García.

Another of those who was on the field was Pity Gonzalo Martínez (ex Huracán and River Plate), who was replaced after 22 minutes of the second leg, according to the site Flashscore.

The only goal of the day was scored by Anderson Talisca for Al Nassr to win. In the 31st minute of the first half, a cross arrives from the right, CR7 gets up and the ball passes him, but the Brazilian, who had been one of the stars of the match against PSG, appears from behind and scores the goal that gives the leaders the lead of the Arab tournament to 33 units.

On Thursday, against the team of Messi, Neymar and Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo showed that he is still strong. And this Sunday he did the same, playing from start to finish. 77 minutes had passed when CR7 took the ball in the area, feigned kicking and hooked inside him, literally leaving his marker lying and primed against the post causing the goalkeeper to react which prevented the second goal of the match. Ronaldo’s move on a tile caused a veritable ovation inside the stadium.

Ronaldomania has invaded Riyadh

Fans entered the stadium, with a capacity of around 25,000, amid great clamor, chanting the name of CR7, their new idol.

“We wanted to see this historic moment in the stadium,” Fares told EFE at the gates of Msool Park, an Al Nassr fan who expected Cristiano “to score his first hat-trick in the Saudi league.”

Abdelrahman, another fan dressed in the Portuguese shirt, was convinced that the aspirations of his team, with CR7, “were not limited to the local league”, but that they hoped to win the Asian Champions League and play in the Club World Cup.

Numerous street vendors have also settled near the stadium, selling products of all kinds, such as T-shirts, handkerchiefs or scarves, with Cristiano’s name and number.

“The market has recovered a lot since the incorporation of Ronaldo. There is considerable demand for all products, especially the Ronaldo shirt,” said Moaz, one of Msool Park’s sellers.

Moaz buys the official Al Nassr shirts and prints and stamps the name and number of CR7 himself. Then he sells them for 300 Saudi riyals (about 73 euros), against the 101 euros it costs to buy it in the official store.

And that’s it At the beginning of the month, Al Nassr announced that Cristiano’s shirt was out of stockas more than 5,000 shirts were sold in less than 24 hours.

The club collected 2 million Saudi riyals (nearly half a million euros) just from the sale of five-time Ballon d’Or winners’ shirts.

While fans already take it for granted that their team will stay in the league, the news is that in the next few days the one who will join Al Nassr is none other than Agustín Rossi, after his controversial farewell from Boca. Finally, the Argentine club will receive around 1.5 million dollars.

In the other match of the day, Ramón Díaz’s Al Hilal, where former Racing player Luciano Vietto also plays, beat Abha 2-1.

With information from Télam, EFE and AFP