Cristiano Ronaldo already has a date to debut with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo should make his debut in the Saudi Arabian soccer championship with Al Nassr on Sunday, January 22, a source close to the Portuguese star’s new club told AFP on Saturday.

CR7, 37, will be able to play with his new team after Al Nassr put an end to the contract of Cameroonian Vincent Aboubakar and thus adapt to the maximum number of eight foreign players set by the Saudi Football Federation.

Cristiano Ronaldo, presented in Riyadh earlier this week, will be available on January 22, for the home game against Ettifaq. Between now and then he will serve a two-game suspension imposed in November when he was still playing for Manchester United in the English Premier League.

“Al Nassr terminated Vincent Aboubakar’s contract, by mutual agreement, and (the player) has received all the financial compensation to which he was entitled,” a source close to the Saudi club said.

Cristiano Ronaldo would serve his two-game suspension in Al Nassr’s matches against Al Ta’ee and Al Shabab, said the same source, who did not confirm the departure of Aboubakar (30 years old) to Manchester United. He limited himself to specifying that the player is now free and can negotiate with the club he wants.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has committed to the Saudi team until 2025 and his estimated salary is 200 million euros ($211 million) for the duration of his contract.

He was received on Tuesday as an idol by 25,000 fans at the Mrsool Park stadium in Riyadh and Cristiano Ronaldo said that day that this signing does not mark the end of his career, but a new stage in his goal of continuing to break records in football.

The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia is part of the desire of the kingdom’s authorities to polish the national soccer championship, just now that its neighbor Qatar hosted the World Cup at the end of 2022.

Saudi Arabia could present a joint bid with Greece and Egypt to host the 2030 World Cup.

Duel Cristiano Ronaldo – Felipe Caicedo in sight

The next match of the team where Felipe Caicedo plays in the quarterfinals of the King’s Cup will be precisely against the team that has just presented the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo. According to the program of the contest, Al-Nassr will host the Abha Club on Sunday, February 12.

King’s Cup is one of the oldest tournaments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was first held in 1957.

As stated in a note from arabnewsthe winning team will receive SR10 million ($2.7 million) and qualify for direct participation in the AFC Champions League (Asia), while the runner-up will receive SR5 million.

(D)