Cristiano Ronaldo lands in Saudi Arabia ahead of his Al-Nassr medical

Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Riyadh on Monday night ahead of undergoing his medical with Al Nassr on Tuesday. 

The club plans to officially unveil the former Manchester United forward at 7pm local time (4pm GMT) in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. 

SSC [Saudi Sports Company] will broadcast and stream the unveiling of Ronaldo at Mrsool Park live on their channels for fans to watch. 

Thousands of supporters are expected to attend Ronaldo’s unveiling on Tuesday afternoon, with club president Musalli Al-Muammar likely to lead the event. 

Al-Nassr head coach Rudi Garcia is also expected to attend the unveiling of Ronaldo following his medical at the club. 

The 37-year-old star took to social media to address the Al Nassr fans before taking off on Monday morning.  

Sharing a story to Instagram on Monday afternoon, the buoyant Portuguese superstar pointed to the camera whilst winking and said: ‘Hi guys, see you soon!’.

Ronaldo, who cut an excited and relaxed figure ahead of his trip to the Middle East, left Manchester United acrimoniously in November after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, which criticised both the club and manager Erik ten Hag. 

Ronaldo is set to undergo his Al Nassr medical on Tuesday ahead of the club’s official unveiling of the 37-year-old superstar later that day.

Al Nassr have confirmed that they plan to unveil Ronaldo at their 30,000-seater stadium, Mrsool Park, at 7pm local time on Tuesday evening (4pm GMT).

According to Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah, Al Nassr are ready to ‘throw a party’ at the same level of Ronaldo’s Real Madrid unveiling in 2009. 

Cristiano Ronaldo sent a message to the Al Nassr fans as he flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday

Announcing the news on Instagram, the club proudly displayed the hashtag ‘Cristiano is yellow’ with an image of him performing his trademark celebration.

Ronaldo’s wife Georgina Rodriguez also took to Instagram to post pictures of what appeared to be the plane to Saudi Arabia.  The 28-year-old model accompanied her gallery of images with the caption: ‘Not without me!’.

It is understood the veteran and his family will stay in a luxury hotel in the capital while he looks to find a fixed residence in Riyadh. 

Ronaldo agreed to join Al Nassr on a record-breaking contract worth £175m-a-year last week

Should Ronaldo prove he is fit enough to feature against Al Ta’ee on Thursday, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could well earn his Al Nassr debut this week.

Although Thursday’s Saudi Pro League clash may present too difficult a turnaround in terms of match sharpness, manager Rudi Garcia will be keen for the ex-Red Devils striker to build up some crucial minutes ahead of his side’s top-of-the-table showdown against Al Shabab next Saturday.

As Al Nassr must wait a fortnight until they next host a match at Mrsool Park, the Saudi club will no doubt want Ronaldo to feature on Thursday before having to wait two more weeks to show off the all-time great to their fans.

Should Ronaldo miss out versus Al Ta’ee, he will likely make his home debut against Ettifaq on January 21.

His wife Georgina Rodriguez posted pictures of what appeared to be the plane on social media

It is only a matter of time until the Portuguese icon plays his first match outside of a European league, having starred for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus previously during his illustrious career. 

On New Year’s Eve, head coach Garcia bizarrely risked upsetting Ronaldo as he told reporters that he wanted to sign Lionel Messi first, following the Argentine’s World Cup heroics last month.

When asked about Ronaldo’s arrival in Saudi Arabia, Garcia jokingly admitted: ‘First I tried to take Messi’. 

The French coach, formerly of Roma, Marseille and Lyon, took charge of Al Nassr back in June.

Rudi Garcia risked upsetting his new star with a joke that he wanted to sign Lionel Messi first

Ronaldo’s Man United deal was ripped up last month after a tell-all interview with Piers Morgan

Having fallen out of favour with both Ten Hag and former Portuguese manager Fernando Santos during the World Cup, Ronaldo has made a habit of holding tense relationships with his bosses.

The forward, who claimed in his bombshell interview with Morgan that he felt ‘betrayed’ by Manchester United, admitted he had no respect for Ten Hag following the Dutchman’s arrival at Old Trafford this summer.

He said: ‘I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.’