After announcing the official contract, the Saudi club Al-Nasr ended a stage of speculation about the future of the Portuguese international star, Cristiano Ronaldo, in a deal that may be the largest in the world.
Al-Nasr accounts published on social media a picture of the Portuguese star, who won the Golden Ball five times, holding the team’s shirt after Ronaldo signed a deal until June 2025, as the club praised this step and described it as “writing a new historical chapter.”
“This signing will not only inspire our club to achieve more success, but also our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls, to be the best version of themselves,” the club, nicknamed “Al-Alamy”, wrote on Twitter.
The world’s greatest athlete ????
Officially signed for #Global ????#Ronaldo_Nasrawi pic.twitter.com/BBq469mAYh– Al-Nasr Saudi Club (@AlNassrFC) December 30, 2022
Analysts believe that the gains of the “Madeira missile” deal exceed those of Al-Nasr Club, but rather it is a front for Saudi sports, which has become in the global spotlight.
The Saudi sports critic concerned with the affairs of Al-Nasr Club, Falah Al-Qahtani, described the contract with Ronaldo as a “great project” for the Gulf state, as “it is considered a new road map for Saudi sports, and the name of the Kingdom and Al-Nasr Club will become present in all international media.”
Al-Qahtani told Al-Hurra that the deal was not only technical, but that “its benefits will be very great at all technical, public and investment levels, whether for Al-Nasr Club or even for Saudi sports,” as he put it.
In the same direction, the Saudi sports critic interested in the affairs of Al-Nasr Club, Ali Al-Marchoud, believes that the gains of the deal go beyond the Saudi club and sports, but rather extend to the entire Middle East, as he put it.
Speaking to Al-Hurra, Al-Murshoud said, “This historic deal creates a distinct mental image of Saudi Arabia and its sport, given that it is of valuable artistic, investment and public value.”
Al-Nasr contracted with Ronaldo in a free transfer after the “Don” left Manchester United last month, following a television interview in which the Portuguese national team captain said that he felt betrayed by the club, and that he had no respect for his Dutch coach, Eric Ten Hag.
Who is Al Nasr Club?
Al-Nasr was established in 1955 and is located in the capital, Riyadh. The club plays in the Saudi Professional League known as the “Roshan Professional League” – the highest level – which includes 16 teams.
Al-Alamy is one of the best clubs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it won the league title recently in 2019 and ranks second in the ranking table this season.
According to Archyde.com, the number of league championships won by Al-Nasr is 9 titles, but the Nasrawis say that they have achieved 17 league titles throughout their history. The difference is due to the fact that the league competition before 1977 was held at the level of regions in Saudi Arabia.
The team also won the King’s Cup competition six times, the last of which was in 1990, before it was suspended for 18 years. Al-Nassr achieved a number of local and regional championships and was the first representative of the Asian continent in the Club World Cup in 2000, and since then he has been dubbed “Al-Alamy”.
Saudi football legend, Majed Abdullah, the league’s top scorer throughout the ages, played for Al-Nasr, as the former international striker scored 189 goals, with an average goal per game.
Al-Nasr Club is sponsored by Qiddiya, a sports and entertainment company launched by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund in 2018 with a plan to build a huge complex outside Riyadh that will include a theme park, a Formula 1 track and a football stadium.
Since last June, Al-Nasr training has been supervised by the French coach, Rudi Garcia, who previously trained Lille, Roma, Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais.
“accurately calculated” return
Al-Nasr did not announce the value of the deal, which topped all the international media, but a source close to the club revealed to AFP that the cost of Ronaldo’s transfer amounted to “more than 200 million euros” (214.5 million dollars).
According to the networkCNBCThis value, if confirmed, “would be the largest salary ever in the history of the sport.”
And the Saudi sports critic, Muhammad Al-Sheikh, considered the value of the deal “huge” compared to the global transfer market, but he believes that it is worth it.
Al-Sheikh told Al-Hurra that the return on the investment deal was “accurately calculated” before signing, adding that Ronaldo would achieve “repercussions on the value of the Saudi League and other matters related to the moral value of the deal on more than one side in the Kingdom and on Saudi sports in particular.”
As for Al-Murshoud, he said that the short period of time between Saudi media leaking the signature and the club’s official announcement, “the sale of 20,000 shirts to the club,” and this came before the official news was broadcast, wondering about the number of shirts that the club would sell weeks after the player’s arrival to the Kingdom.
The club quoted the 37-year-old player as saying: “I am eager to experience a new football league in a different country. The vision with which Al-Nasr Club operates is very inspiring, and I am excited to join my teammates, so that together we can help the team achieve more successes.”
He added, “We can see from Saudi Arabia’s recent performance in the World Cup that it is a country with great football ambitions and has a lot of potential. I am lucky because I won everything I set out to win in European football and I feel now is the right moment to share my experience in Asia.”
Very happy that the greatest player in the history of football joined Al-Nasr Club and the Saudi League.
Our contract with Ronaldo is not aimed at winning a match or championship, but rather beyond that: transferring great experiences, high professionalism, and inspiring a generation that is passionate about sports.
I invite you to enjoy one of the chapters of the tremendous development in the Kingdom of Glory. pic.twitter.com/LoR8zYXS7q
– Entertaining Al Muammar (@musalli9) December 30, 2022
For his part, the president of Al-Nasr Club, Musali Al-Muammar, tweeted, “I am very happy that the greatest player in football history has joined Al-Nasr Club and the Saudi League. Our contract with Ronaldo does not aim to win a match or a championship, but rather beyond that: transferring great experiences, high professionalism, Inspiration for a generation that is passionate about sports.
“soft power”
In this regard, Al-Sheikh said, “Sport is one of the most important soft forces for any country, and the Kingdom in its recent years is witnessing a boom at all levels, and today it is in the spotlight globally economically, politically and tourismly, as evidenced by the amount spent on development in general, and sports is one of the aspects of development.”
He explained, “We, by contracting with him (Ronaldo), do not make the wheel, as other countries preceded us in that,” referring to the recruitment of stars by other leagues for commercial reasons.
In the past few years, the Kingdom opened its doors to host major sporting events in various games, in addition to the massive support from the state for clubs and national teams.
In addition, the Public Investment Fund acquired English club Newcastle United last year as part of the Kingdom’s plan to diversify sources of income away from oil.
Al-Murshoud said that since 2018, Saudi sport has witnessed a “planned transformation” that comes within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and that the contract with Ronaldo, who led his country to the European Championship, is only the “beginning.”
The “unusual” attraction of Ronaldo also contributes to strengthening the Kingdom’s image and exporting the culture of Saudi Arabia as a country, as is the case with Qatar, which recently hosted the World Cup, according to Al-Mashroud.
He pointed out that the spotlight will be shed on Riyadh during the coming period, not only for the presence of the Portuguese star; Rather, because the Saudi capital will host an upcoming confrontation between Argentine Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, when Paris Saint-Germain plays with Al-Nasr and Al-Hilal Stars on January 19th.
In addition, Al-Qahtani said that this contract “will enhance” Saudi Arabia’s chances of hosting major sports tournaments, “in which Ronaldo will be the Kingdom’s ambassador.”
Media reports had previously reported Saudi Arabia’s intention to submit a joint file with Egypt and Greece to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
“new transformation”
Al-Sheikh believes that Ronaldo’s arrival in Riyadh marks “the beginning of a qualitative shift and a new transformation in many areas.” He added, “The contract with Cristiano Ronaldo in and of itself will open a wide door for other international players to enter the Saudi League, in addition to that it will be a window for a global view of the international scene,” a view that was also repeated by Al-Mashroud.
The Saudi Minister of Sports, Chairman of the Olympic Committee, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, praised the deal, saying: “We will support the rest of our clubs (to conclude) qualitative deals with international stars soon.”
Happy to have one of the best players in the world starting his new career in Saudi Arabia ????????
Welcome @Cristiano in the KingdomAnd we will support the rest of our clubs for qualitative deals with international stars soon ???????? pic.twitter.com/MGZ58QcmXM
– Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal (@AbdulazizTF) December 30, 2022
In this context, Al-Qahtani stressed that such a deal requires concerted efforts to invest it in the best possible way. And he continued: “This deal requires careful plans and programs by the sports authorities – the Ministry of Sports, the Football Association and the Professional League, or even by Al-Nasr Club and investment and sponsoring companies for Al-Nassr to take advantage of the presence of such a global star in the Saudi stadiums.”
In turn, the sheikh said, “The expected spherical leap must… be compatible with another professional leap in all aspects of sports engagement, whether at the level of administrative professionalism, infrastructure, television transmission, and investments of all kinds, internal and external.”