RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo's first season in Saudi Arabia ended with a whimper, but with hundreds of millions in wages and unprecedented attention on Saudi football he may not be the last megastar to grace the oil-rich kingdom. The fireworks and euphoria that greeted Ronaldo's gala unveiling in January were
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo's first season in Saudi Arabia ended with a whimper, but with hundreds of millions in wages and unprecedented attention on Saudi football he may not be the last megastar to grace the oil-rich kingdom.
Ronaldo scored 14 goals including five penalties but it was a"disappointing season" for the Riyadh club, said Moqbel Al-Zabni, editor-in-chief of the Saudi capital's Al Riyadiah newspaper.Fan frustrations aside, however, the 38-year-old remains a marketing coup for Saudi football and the wider country, which is attempting to reinvent itself as a magnet for tourism and foreign investment.
Saudi Arabia is also considering bidding for the World Cup, following in the footsteps of its neighbour Qatar, and has already explored joining forces with Egypt and Greece to present a tri-continental option.Saudi Arabia's lavish spending on sport is often criticised as"sportswashing" - an attempt to shift the focus from its record on human rights.
After mistakenly calling the country"South Africa" when he was first welcomed at Al Nassr, last week he backed the Saudi Pro League to become one of the best in the world. Al Nassr's Twitter followers have jumped from 800,000 to more than 4 million, and swelled from 2 million to 14 million-plus on Instagram.
Egyptian sports analyst Ahmed Afify said Ronaldo could not be blamed for the trophy-less season, pointing to injuries to other players including Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina.However, some fans were not impressed with what they saw of Ronaldo, who sometimes appeared anonymous.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ronaldo's first season in Saudi Arabia ends with injuryCristiano Ronaldo missed the final matchday of the Saudi Pro League due to injury as his Al-Nassr team finished their season with 3-0 victory over Al-Fateh on Wednesday.The Portuguese forward decided not to sit on the bench for the frustrating end to his first season in Saudi Arabia after joining Al-Nassr
Read more »
US says ready to resume Sudan mediation once parties 'serious'OSLO - The United States said on Thursday that it remained ready to mediate between Sudan’s warring parties but that they needed to be serious about a truce, after the army left talks in Saudi Arabia. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »
Roland Garros goes Wild as Medvedev blown away in French Open first roundPARIS : A wound-up Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock first-round exit at the French Open when he lost 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4 to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild amid gusty winds on Tuesday.Although Seyboth Wild won two Challenger (second-tier) titles on clay this season, world number two Medvedev
Read more »
Former US first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, says familyMrs Carter is the wife of former US president Jimmy Carter. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »
First look: Inside Pan Pacific Orchard, a new nature-inspired luxury hotel on Orchard RoadDesigned by the award-winning WOHA Architects, Pan Pacific Orchard is a lush urban oasis with stunning facilities such as a cascading waterfall, an outdoor beach pool and event spaces set in the clouds.
Read more »
In first presidential campaign swing, DeSantis says US on wrong trackMr DeSantis kicked off his first in-person campaign event in Iowa. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »