Al-Nassr: Ronaldo’s Potential Debut Game Postponed

Due to heavy rainfall in Saudi Arabia, Al-Nassr were forced to postpone their first match following the blockbuster signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.

After signing Ronaldo for a staggering amount of money following Manchester United’s decision to terminate his contract in November 2022, the club has been propelled into the international spotlight.

They were scheduled to play Al-Ta’i on Thursday but were forced to postpone the match until Friday after announcing the arrival of Ronaldo on Tuesday.

“Due to heavy rain and weather conditions impacting the stadium’s electricity, we have been officially informed that tonight’s match against Al Tai is postponed for 24 hours. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to fans and wish everyone safe travels”, the club tweeted.

File photo of Cristiano Ronaldo’s unveiling as Al-Nassr player on Tuesday.

Since joining, thousands of fans have been eager to see Ronaldo in action, but they will now have to wait another day to find out if he will participate in the opening match.

According to reports from Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo has a “15% chance” of playing for Al-Nassr versus Al-Ta’i in the Saudi Pro League at Mrsool Park.

Ronaldo received his two-match suspension from the FA in England, but FIFA regulations require that the sentence be followed globally.

Whether Ronaldo would play in the match was unclear. Before his acrimonious departure from Manchester United was formally revealed in November, the 37-year-old striker was fined £50,000 by the English FA and suspended for two games.

The punishment came after an angry Ronaldo was seen on tape slapping a 14-year-old autistic boy’s phone out of his hand after United lost 1-0 to Everton on April 9. He received a warning from the police as well for this.

The five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or would get himself into further trouble and would even receive a harsher sentence if he chose to disregard his ban.

Al-Nassr officials, though, are looking into Ronaldo’s international clearance certificate to see if it has a loophole that would allow them to escape the two-game ban.