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Ronaldo scores for Al Nassr in first game after Saudi Arabia move

Since becoming the best-paid footballer in history, the Portuguese superstar kicks off Saudi Pro League debut by leading Al Nassr to a 1-0 victory over Ettifaq.

Reuters

Ronaldo's move to Al Nassr came after his second stint at Manchester United collapsed in acrimony when he savaged the club in a TV interview.

Cristiano Ronaldo has made a winning start to life in the Saudi Pro League as he led Al Nassr to a 1-0 victory over Ettifaq in his first match since becoming the best paid footballer in history.

The Portuguese superstar took time to get going on Sunday, but there were promising signs for Al Nassr, who are eyeing domestic and continental silverware after the 37-year-old moved for deals totalling more than 400 million dollars.

However, Ronaldo's league debut had an anticlimactic feel in front of 22,862 fans after he scored twice in this week's lively 5-4 exhibition defeat to Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain.

Ronaldo, leading out Al Nassr as captain, made a low-key start in the first half, twice losing the ball with attempted trickery as his team-mates struggled to get him on the ball.

Ronaldo's early shot from the edge of the box was deflected over, and he nearly met Abdulmajeed Al Sulaiheem's cross that was headed in by Anderson Talisca for the opener on 31 minutes.

Shortly afterwards Ronaldo, met by shouts of "Siu!" every time he touched ball, blazed over with a free kick from an inviting position just outside the penalty area.

Al Nassr's front three began to click in the second half and Ronaldo set up Pity Martinez and Talisca — after some trademark stepovers — for close chances in quick succession.

A swing and a miss at a bicycle kick showed Ronaldo was warming to his task, and he then attempted a shot from a nearly impossible angle after a dribble into the box.

But there was to be no goal for Ronaldo, watched by his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, in a win that kept Al Nassr on top of the Saudi Pro League.

Billion-dollar income

Ronaldo arrived in Saudi Arabia in early January but his debut was delayed while he served a two-match ban for knocking a mobile phone out of a fan's hand while at Manchester United.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is the all-time Champions League top-scorer, collecting five titles along the way and has won seven domestic championships with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Ronaldo also holds the record for most international goals — 118 with Portugal, with whom he won Euro 2016 — and career goals with 819.

In Qatar last year, he became the first man to score at five World Cups.

His move to Al Nassr came after his second stint at Manchester United collapsed in acrimony when he savaged the club in a TV interview.

According to reports, he signed for more than $200 million on top of a separate $200-million deal to act as an ambassador for Saudi Arabia's expected 2030 World Cup co-hosting bid.

It will further swell the bank balance of Ronaldo, who became the first footballer to pass $1 billion in career earnings in 2020.

Part of his appeal is his massive social media presence, with nearly 800 million followers across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE: AFP