Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Al Nassr 1:16
(CNN Spanish) --
Cristiano Ronaldo will make history by wearing the yellow shirt of the Saudi club Al Nassr in the Saudi Arabian league, which he will arrive on Tuesday.
Al Nassr, a club from the first division of Saudi Arabia that was little known in international football until a few days ago, said they were proud of the arrival of Ronaldo, who has gone through the most important international clubs in the world and had an exit High profile Manchester United, before the World Cup in Qatar.
Al Nassr shirts with the name of Ronaldo have already been sold in the capital of Saudi Arabia since his arrival in Saudi football. (Credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)
Cristiano will join the second club with the most titles in the Saudi league for two seasons, where several Latin Americans play, among others, the Colombian David Ospina and the Brazilian international, Luiz Gustavo.
This is what you should know about Al Nassr.
The second team with the most titles in Saudi Arabia
The Al Nassr team is based in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is in the country's top soccer division, the Saudi Professional League, in which 16 teams play.
It was formed in 1955 and since then it has won nine national titles, which makes it the second team with the most titles in the professional league after Al Hilal, the other team from the capital, which has won the most titles in that league: 18 .
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A billboard welcoming Saudi Arabian soccer club al-Nassr's new Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo (#7) is pictured along a road in the Saudi capital Riyadh on January 3, 2023. (Credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)
They have also won the Copa del Rey, a knockout championship for the country, six times: the last time they won this title was in 1990.
Ronaldo will play at home with Al Nassr at the Mrsool Park stadium, which has a capacity for 25,000 people.
The team, which has gained millions of followers on social networks since the news of Ronaldo's arrival broke, has been led since June this year by Frenchman Rudy García, 57, who has gone through European teams such as Lille. , AS Roma, Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais.
"We are happy for his arrival. The first objective is to work so that he adapts to our team, that he enjoys playing for Al Nassr, and that he entertains the fans," Garcia said.
Al Nassr players celebrate a goal during the AFC Champions League quarter-final football match between UAE's Al-Wahda and KSA's Al-Nassr on October 16, 2021, at Mrsool Park stadium in Riyadh. (Credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)
International players at Al Nassr
The Portuguese, who has scored more than 800 goals between clubs and the international team, is one of the few international stars that Al Nassr has, as by rule, clubs in the Saudi league can only register eight foreign players, and only seven They can play in one day.
So Ronaldo is expected to join other international players such as Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilians Luiz Gustavo and Tallisca, Argentinean Pity Martínez, Ivorian defender Ghislain Konan and Cameroonian Vincent Aboubakar, the latter who scored the game-winning goal. victory for his team against Serbia and surprised Brazil in their last group game in Qatar, although they were eliminated.
This January 2, 2023 photo shows a general view of the main entrance of the Saudi al-Nassr football club in the capital Riyadh, where Cristiano Ronaldo will play after signing a contract for the 2023.2025 season. (Credit: Getty Images)
Currently, Al Nassar is the leader of the Saudi League with 26 points after 11 games in which they have scored 25 goals.
This season's top scorer is Brazilian Tallisca, who could be unseated by Ronaldo if the Portuguese performs well in the league.
(You have to remember that Ronaldo had problems this season with Manchester and only scored three times in all games).
And after playing in the European leagues, Ronaldo could participate this year in the AFC Champions League, which was previously known as the Asian Club Championship, a tournament in which Al Nassr finished runner-up in their best performance. in 1995.
The Portuguese could help his new team reach the most prestigious international club tournament in Asia if it wins the local league and manages to advance to the group stage of the 2023-2024 season that will start in September 2023.
-- With information from Reuters.
Cristiano Ronaldo
