AL NASSR fans gave Cristiano Ronaldo a hero’s welcome by setting off flares and performing a “siu” thunderclap chant on his debut in Saudi Arabia.
The legendary 37-year-old joined the Saudi club on a free transfer following his release from Manchester United last November.
United ripped up Ronaldo’s contract after he accused the club of betrayal in a sit-down interview with Piers Morgan.
In that chat, he also revealed he does not respect manager Erik ten Hag, making his return post-World Cup impossible.
Ronaldo joined Al Nassr on a £173million-a-year deal after a dismal World Cup campaign.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored just one goal and was even dropped to the Portugal subs bench for the knockout stages.
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Portugal’s hopes of winning the winter tournament came to an end in the quarter-finals at the hands of Morocco, and Ronaldo departed in floods of tears.
Ronaldo did feature earlier this week for Riyadh XI against Paris Saint-Germain in a hybrid friendly.
He scored two goals in the 4-5 loss which also featured his long-time rival and now World Cup winner, Lionel Messi.
But Ronaldo made his competitive debut for Al Nassr on Sunday against Ettifaq and captained the team.
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Ronaldo was met with a sea of flares and the crowd performing a “siu” thunderclap chant.
One part of the stadium held up squares which collectively read “vamos”, which is Spanish for “come on”.
Al Nassr won the game 1-0 with Ronaldo lasting the full 90 minutes.
Talisca scored the only goal of the game in the 31st minute.
The three points moved Ronaldo’s new team to the top of the Saudi league.
They’re one point above rivals Al Hilal, who do have a game in hand.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
