Cristiano Ronaldo was officially unveiled as an Al Nassr player on Tuesday after finalising his move to the Saudi Arabia club on a two-and-a-half year contract.
Ronaldo, one of the finest footballers in history, was introduced on Tuesday night at the Saudi Arabian league leaders home at Mrsool Park in Riyadh where he was given a hero’s welcome on the pitch in front of 25,000 supporters.
Who are Al Nassr?
The Riyadh club are one of Saudi Arabia's most well known and decorated clubs who regularly compete for honours both domestically and in Asia. Al Nassr have won nine Saudi Premier League titles, six King's Cups, three Crown Prince's Cups, three Federation Cups and two Saudi Super Cups. In 1995 they reached their only Asian Champions League final, losing to South Korea's Ilhwa Chunma.
Coached by Frenchman Rudi Garcia, Al Nassr currently top the Saudi league table ahead of Al Shabab on 26 points.
Why has Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr?
Ronaldo signed on a free transfer following the termination of his contract at Manchester United on November 22. The 37-year-old Portuguese striker departed Old Trafford after a stinging television interview in which he criticised the club's owners and manager Erik ten Hag.
Widespread reports claim the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward will earn north of $200 million per year – although Nassr have, predictably, decided not to confirm nor vehemently deny the speculation.
What did Ronaldo say about the move?
"I'm grateful to Al Nassr, for giving me this opportunity to develop football for the younger generation, for the women as well. For me, it's a challenge, but I also feel very happy and proud," Ronaldo said.
"I can say now, I had many opportunities in Europe, Brazil, Australia and the United States. Even in Portugal, many clubs tried to sign me, but I gave my word to this club, to develop not only football but also the other parts of this country."
What has been the reaction to Ronaldo's move?
Ronaldo has been criticised for joining Al Nassr, with his detractors claiming it is no way to bring down the curtain on one of the most successful careers in the game's history.
With 118 goals, he sits as the all-time leading goalscorer in men’s international football, while he has registered more than 800 goals in his career overall.
The Portugal captain is a five-time winner of the Uefa Champions League, and has guided his country to success in both the 2016 European Championship and the 2018/19 Uefa Nations League.
“Football is different [nowadays]; the evolution of football is different,” Ronaldo said. “It’s not the end of my career to come to Saudi Arabia. This is why I want to change, and to be honest, I really don’t care what people say.
“I took my decisions and I have responsibility to change that. But, for me, I’m really, really happy to be here.”
Who will Ronaldo play with at Al Nassr?
Ronaldo will line up alongside several players who have enjoyed fleeting moments at the Qatar World Cup alongside him.
Defender Sultan Al Ghannam's introduction as a late substitute helped Saudi Arabia pull off the shock of the tournament as Herve Renard's side beat Argentina in their Group C opener.
Ronaldo could partner Vincent Aboubakar in attack. The Cameroon striker scored one of the goals of the tournament with an inch-perfect lob over Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić in their first group match and also scored the winner against Brazil before being sent off for his celebrations.
Other familiar names include former Arsenal and Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina, former Brazil midfielder Luiz Gustavo and attacking Argentine midfielder Pity Martinez.
When will he make his debut for Al Nassr?
The former Real Madrid and Juventus striker could be in line to make his debut for his new side on Thursday when the Saudi league leaders take on Al Ta'ee at home.
Al Nassr coach Rudi Garcia said the signing of Ronaldo was a huge step for the Saudi Arabian league.
"In my life, I've seen that great players like Cristiano are the simplest to manage, because there's nothing I can teach him," Garcia told reporters.
"Like he said, we are here to win, nothing else. I want him to enjoy playing with Al Nassr and winning with Al Nassr, just that."
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Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
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The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
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Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
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Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
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pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
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