Cristiano Ronaldo will not be able to make his debut tonight for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, according to The Daily Mail.
The 37-year-old recently signed a two-year contract with the club, earning a yearly salary of £173 million, making him the highest-paid athlete in the world. Ronaldo arrived in Riyadh on Monday to complete a medical examination and participated in an open training session with his new teammates.
“I’m so proud to make this big decision in my life. In Europe, my work is done. I won everything and played for the most important clubs in Europe. This is a new challenge,” Ronaldo said, in quotes picked by the Guardian.
However, he will not be able to make his debut in Al Nassr’s game against Al-Ta’ee on Thursday because he has not served a ban issued by the Football Association (FA) for an incident with a young Everton fan while he was playing for Manchester United.
The ban will carry over until Al Nassr has played two competitive games and Ronaldo may be eligible to make his Al Nassr debut on January 21 against Ettifaq.