Cristiano Ronaldo’s Debut for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr on Hold

Rabat – Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut for Saudi club Al-Nassr has been delayed due to a two-match suspension he received in 2022 before terminating his contract with his former club Manchester United, sports outlet 90min reported.

Besides Ronaldo’s two-match ban, converging reports attributed the postponement of the player’s debut to the Al-Nassr’s quota for foreign players. SuperSport quoted “AFP sources” as saying that the Saudi club is yet to register Ronaldo because of a lack of vacancies for a foreign player.

The English Football Association handed Ronaldo the two-match suspension after he smashed a 14-year-old autistic boy’s phone out of his hand after his club lost to Everton FC 1-0 on April 9, 2022, according to British news outlet Mirror. The Portuguese player has to serve the suspension before being able to play with his new club.

According to FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players: “Any disciplinary sanction of more than four matches or more than three months that has not yet been (entirely) served by a player shall be enforced by the new association that has registered the player.”

In addition to the suspension, the 37-year-old player was ordered to pay a £50,000 (MAD 618,672) fine. Ronaldo later took to social media to apologize to the young boy and his mom for his behavior.

“I would like to apologize for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship,” the Portuguese star wrote on his social media.

After Ronaldo serves his two-match ban, Al Nassr still has to figure out the foreign players’ quota issue. According to Super Sport, “A foreign player must leave [the club] to register Ronaldo, either by selling or by terminating the contract by mutual consent.”

The news of Ronaldo’s delayed debut comes as an unpleasant surprise for Al-Nassr fans, who were eager to see the global star on the pitch in the Saudi team’s colors.

Late last month, Al-Nassr sealed Ronaldo’s transfer deal for a salary of £173 million (MAD 2.14 billion). Three days later, the Portuguese player landed in Riyadh alongside his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez and his children, to start his journey in the Arab country.

Speaking at a press conference before his unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, Ronaldo said that he is “proud to make this big decision.” Noting that he has played in the “most important clubs in Europe,” he stressed that playing in Asia is his “new challenge.”