Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut for Al-Nassr may be postponed indefinitely, according to reports, because the Saudi club has already exceeded their foreign player quota..
According to AFP, Ronaldo has not yet been registered with the club because he would be their ninth foreign player, one more than the Saudi football authorities’ maximum limit of eight.
That means Al-Nassr would have to let go of one of their current octet of foreigners, which includes Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo, and forwards Anderson Talisca of Brazil and Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon, before the 37-year-old global superstar could join them..
“Al Nassr has not yet registered him because there is no vacancy for a foreign player,” one club official told AFP, declining to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“A foreign player must leave to register Ronaldo, either by selling or by mutually terminating the contract.”
According to reports from Saudi Arabia, Uzbek midfielder Jaloliddin Masharipov is most likely to be sold in order for Ronaldo, who is reportedly paid £175 million per year, to be registered.
A second club source confirmed to AFP that Ronaldo had not been registered as of Thursday afternoon local time, adding, “There are ongoing negotiations to sell one of the players, but they have not reached an agreement..
Ronaldo was set to make his Al-Nassr debut against Al-Ta’ee on Thursday, but that was called into question after it was revealed that he must first serve a two-match ban handed down by the English FA in November, when he was found guilty of improper and violent conduct for smashing a phone out of the hand of a 14-year-old Everton fan the previous April after Manchester United’s 1-0 loss at Goodison Park.
Although his contract at Old Trafford was terminated a few days later, a Fifa rule requires that the suspension be carried over to his new football club. Both AFP sources refused to confirm whether Al-Nassr would follow regulations and ensure Ronaldo’s suspension was completed, while the Saudi Football Association referred questions about the suspension to the Saudi Football Association..
Mrsool Park, Al Nassr’s 25,000-capacity stadium, was sold out for Thursday’s game, but the game was postponed for 24 hours due to weather, according to the club’s English-language Twitter account. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused fans and wish them safe travels.”
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