Tehran: Five-time World Player of the Year and Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo received a warm welcome in Iran as he arrived in the country to play Iran’s Persepolis in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday.
Fans enthusiastically swarmed the hotel of the Portuguese footballer making him miss a training session with his Saudi teammates for a match in Tehran.
Saudi Al-Nassr is scheduled to play Iranian Persepolis in Group E on Tuesday, while Qatari side Al-Duhail will play against Istiklol Dushanbe of Tajikistan.
هي أشيـاء لا تُشتـرى 💛
كُن أقرب وشاهد كواليس وصول #العالمي 🤩
إلى العاصمة الإيرانية طهـران
عبـر حساب #النصر الرسمي في سناب شات 🤳https://t.co/Hrdf7HugGG pic.twitter.com/lsgfBiP2Uv— نادي النصر السعودي (@AlNassrFC) September 18, 2023
The streets of Tehran were crowded with fans who were holding welcome banners and pictures of Ronaldo upon the arrival of the Saudi Arabian Club team in Iran.
Supporters of Ronaldo swarmed the team’s hotel, despite attempts by security personnel to stop them.
Earlier Al-Nassr posted pictures of Ronaldo receiving a hand-made Iranian carpet from Persepolis fans.
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“Mr Cristiano Ronaldo, welcome to Iran. A token of appreciation, an original hand-woven piece of art made by Iranian artists to commemorate your presence in Iran, on behalf of Persepolis’s fans,” the fans wrote.
The Saudi Pro League has become a major destination for Europe-based players since Ronaldo joined to Al-Nassr last January.
