Al-Nassr coach Garcia hails ‘extraordinary’ Ronaldo signing

RIYADH: Footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo will attend an official welcoming reception later today – Tuesday – at the Al-Nassr club at Marsool Park Stadium, where he will sign a contract sealing the two-year deal and meet fans and media.

The Portuguese star arrived in Riyadh, accompanied by his family late Monday.

Football shirts sporting his name and trademark number “7” have been flying off the shelves of sports shops across the Kingdom since the announcement of the spectacular sporting deal was first announced.

Ranaldo was received on Monday evening by chairman of the board of directors of Al-Nasr Club, Musli Al Muammar, his deputy, Abdullah Al-Amrani, and the CEO of the club, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, as well as a group of children from the club’s fans.

The club posted a video of a clearly enthusiastic Ronaldo shortly before his arrival in the Saudi captial on Monday night.

The signing – which was announced by Al-Nassr on Friday – has been billed as kicking off a new era in Asian soccer.

The club’s president, Musalli Al-Muammar, said the agreement was “more than writing a new historical chapter,”

And within 24 hours of the announcement the club’s saw a surge in new followers on its social media accounts.

Ronaldo has won five European Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and Manchester United, but his controversial second tenure at the English club ended after 15 months with him as a bench regular without trophies and out of contract after it was prematurely terminated.

Al-Nassr coach Rudy Garcia said: “The signing of a player the size of Cristiano Ronaldo is extraordinary, and contributes to the development of Saudi football.”

Tonight’s ceremony, which will be hosted by the capital, Riyadh, will start at 7 p.m., where the international star will meet fans, wearing the victory shirt for the first time.

He will then attend a training session open to the fans, along with his fellow players.

Developing story.