Al-Nassr cannot register Cristiano Ronaldo as the Ronaldo’s deal has clashed with the provisions of the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo signed a £175 million-a-year deal with Al-Nassr and was officially unveiled by the club to thousands of Al-Nassr fans at the Mrsool Park Stadium.
Dubbed as the biggest football deal in the history of football, Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at Al-Nassr until 2025 as he braces up for the new challenge in his football career.
He was set to make his debut for the club save the £50,000 fine and two-match ban he picked from the English FA for assaulting a young Everton fan at Goodison Park in 2021.
His debut will also be delayed atleast by a day after Al-Nassr confirmed the postponment of their first scheduled fixture which was set to be played on January 5.
A heavy downpour hit the Mrsool Park Stadium forcing the match to be called off. Al-Nassr confirmed the match has been postponed until the next 24 hours.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in the game due to the ban. He is expected to serve the two-match ban despite the fact that he picked up the offence in a different league – the English Premier League.
According to reports, the FA ban is being backed up by FIFA rules which is applicable to all member associations. The five times Ballon d’Or winner risks stiffer penalties and sanctions by FIFA if he violates the ban.
Meanwhile, Al-Nassr are keen on featuring him in atleast one of the two first matches. They are so eager to have him on the pitch to feed the taste of hungry Al-Nassr fans who wants to have their new hit signing hit the ground running by making his much-anticipated debut for the club. Hence, Al-Nassr officials are reportedly looking for possible loopholes in the FIFA rules that will allow them feature the highly-rated Portuguese football legend.
While the search continues, Al-Nassr have bumped into another hiccup that will possibly elongate the much-anticipated Cristiano Ronaldo debut.
The club have clashed with the Saudi Pro League – an administrative body overseeing the running of the Saudi Arabian League.
With Cristiano Ronaldo signing, they now have too many foreign players in their squad above the numbers stipulated by the Saudi Pro League
Now, Al-Nassr have to restructure the squad if they will successfully register Cristiano Ronaldo in the league to allow him make his debut.
Al-Nassr currently have eight foreign players in their squad, which is the maximum allowed under the rules of the Saudi league.
Al Nassr’s overseas contingent includes former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian duo Luiz Gustavo and Anderson Talisca, and Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar.
“Al Nassr has not registered him yet because there is no vacancy for a foreign player,” an Al-Nassr official told AFP.
“A foreign player must leave to register Ronaldo, either by selling or by terminating the contract by mutual consent.”
According to local reports in Saudi state, Jaloliddin Masharipov, who recently changed his shirt number from No.7 to No.77 to accommodate Ronaldo, is the leading candidate to make way for the 37-year-old.
