RIYADH — A rousing reception awaits soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo when he is expected to arrive in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh Monday evening after his joining of Al-Nassr Club a few days ago. Al-Nassr officials have completed all preparations for welcoming the Portuguese striker well before his arrival at around 11:00 p.m. on a private jet from Madrid, Arriyadiyah sports newspaper reported. The football icon is then due to complete medical tests before being officially presented to an adoring public at a lavish ceremony at Mrsool Park, the home stadium of Al-Nassr. Ronaldo is also due to be involved in a public training session on Tuesday, alongside the rest of Rudi Garcia's squad, which is expected to be staged at Mrsool Park so as to allow as many fans as possible to attend, the newspaper said. Senior officials of the leading Saudi club had arrived in Riyadh from Madrid on Sunday afternoon to supervise the elaborate arrangements for the reception of the international star on his first arrival in Riyadh. The Saudi fans are in a jubilant state of anticipation to receive their favorite star, Asharq Al-Awsat reported, quoting well-informed sources at Al-Nassr. As part of the preparations, coordination meetings were held on Sunday in Riyadh that lasted for about two hours. The meeting, which was held as part of the meticulously planned arrangements for the reception, was attended by officials from Al-Nassr Club, Riyadh airport and related agencies and departments. The date for Ronaldo's participation in his first match for Al-Nassr is yet to be finalized. The club administration is awaiting the dispatch of the international card by the English Football Association (EFA) to the Portuguese captain. The card will indicate whether Ronaldo can play his first matches for Al-Nassr against Al-Tai and Al-Shabab clubs in the Saudi League competitions or his suspension is still valid in the Saudi League match too as per the decision taken earlier by the Independent Regulatory Commission of EFA. Earlier, Ronaldo was suspended for two matches for a breach of EFA rules. The EFA said in a statement earlier that Ronaldo had admitted that his conduct after the final whistle of the Premier League game between Manchester United FC and Everton FC in April 2022 was improper. An independent Regulatory Commission found that his conduct was both improper and violent during a subsequent hearing, and imposed sanctions, it said. The sanctions were taken before the termination of the official contract between Ronaldo and Manchester United. In the event that the suspension takes effect, Ronaldo will not be in a position to participate in Al-Nassr's scheduled premier league matches against Al-Tai and Al-Shabab, and hence his first match will be against Ettifaq on Jan. 21. Al-Nassr Club is expected to obtain soon a certificate of financial competence that allows it to complete the registration process of its new player Ronaldo. The club management has paid about SR40 million in the past few weeks, and it is expected that more than half of it, amounting to SR22 million, was in favor of the former Al-Nassr player the Brazilian Giuliano Victor de Paula who won his case against Al-Nassr at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) more than three months ago. Al-Nassr's Twitter, Instagram followers surge over 2.5 million There has been a huge surge in the followers of Al-Nassr on Twitter and Instagram after signing the deal with international superstar Ronaldo. Al-Nassr's followers on Instagram surged 400 percent, reaching around 2.5 million users. "This is more than history in the making. This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves. Welcome@cristiano at your new home," Al-Nassr posted on its Twitter account. The followers on Twitter soared to 3.4 million from only about 834,000 before inking the deal.
