Saudis flock to buy Cristiano Ronaldo shirts after Al Nassr deal
2 Min Read
Al Nassr kit store witnesses an unprecedented rush by fans seeking to buy Cristiano Ronaldo's jersey.
-
Crowds flock to a football kit store in Riyadh to buy Ronaldo's new club jersey (Getty Images)
Only hours after Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo penned a two-year contract with Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr club, crowds flocked to a football kit store in Riyadh to buy the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's new club jersey.
Ronaldo on Friday signed for Al Nassr until June 2025 in a deal believed to be worth more than 200 million euros.
The 37-year-old is expected to appear before fans next Thursday, an official from the Al Nassr club told AFP.
An unprecedented rush at the Al Nassr kit store started as soon as reports of the deal were leaked to the local press on Friday night -- hours before the official announcement.
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 to your new home @AlNassrFC pic.twitter.com/oan7nu8NWC
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) December 30, 2022
Abdulqader, the store manager said queues snaked all the way outside the shop and have only grown since. T-shirt stocks have nearly emptied, pushing customers to bring in their own to have the player's name printed on them -- a process that will take up to two days.
"I have never seen anything like this in my life," Abdulqader told AFP.
On social media networks, Al Nassr's channels saw a major boost. Millions of new users followed the club's Instagram page, bringing the total tally to nearly 4 million, up from around 800,000 prior to the announcement.
-
A screenshot comparing Al Nassr club's followers before and after signing Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo heads to the Gulf after a year that saw him relegated to the bench for Portugal and parting ways with Manchester United after the Portuguese star gave an explosive TV interview in which he said he felt "betrayed" by the club and had no respect for coach Erik ten Hag.
The English club terminated his contract while Ronaldo was with Portugal at the World Cup.
Read more: Erdogan: Ronaldo was subjected to political ban in World Cup
