One of the biggest surprises during the January transfer window was Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia. After finally settling in his old club Manchester United in 2021, a lot happened in the next year and a half, and the Portuguese forward left the Red Devils only to move to the Middle East in a blockbuster move. He signed two and a half deal with Al Nassr worth 200 million euros per season and started brightly by scoring five goals in his opening three league games, but then…Cristiano out! Calls for Ronaldo to be expelled from Saudi Arabia following the gross incidentWhile those first games he probably still played mainly with the adrenaline, once he settled in, things didn’t go as planned. In fact, he didn’t settle in, really. He needed time to adapt to the lifestyle and weather conditions, and in the end, he finished the season without a winning trophy but scored 14 goals in 16 games for Al-Nassr.“The biggest difference I have found in Saudi is obviously the heat and adapting schedules to train later in the day when it is cooler. But I have really gotten used to that now. The fans here have been incredible to me, welcoming me and those that follow me to continue on this amazing journey. Every league and country is different and I am very proud to have experienced three different leagues in Europe and won titles in them all” he said while working for LiveScore.Benzema: ‘It is important to be in a Muslim country’When he first arrived in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo said that soon, other big names would follow him into this league, and he was right. His former teammate in Real Karim Benzema, came to Ronaldo’s rival club in a shock move. N’Golo Kante is another familiar name who switched from England and Chelsea to Saudi Arabia, while two other Premier League stars might follow. Offers from the Middle East are currently tempting Romelu Lukaku and Kyle Walker, but we will see if they are given enough money to come.“It hasn’t surprised me but it makes me really happy to see people all across the world now watching the Saudi Pro League. I believe the league will continue to develop and many more players from European leagues will come here to play” said Ronaldo.##NAJAVA_MECA_7318431##
