Saudi Arabia have dominated the headlines throughout the transfer window, welcoming a number of world-class players this summer, including the likes of Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante.It was Cristiano Ronaldo who started the flurry of moves outside of Europe, however, with his move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United likely to go down in history as the catalyst of significant change in football, for better or worse.Now, the Real Madrid legend has finally picked up his first trophy for his new club, winning the Arab Club Champions Cup against Al-Hilal, and even netting a brace, including the winning goal.At 38 years old, Ronaldo is clearly still the man for the big moments, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have moments to forget, too.Before he picked up that piece of silverware, with the game still being played, the forward appeared to wipe his sweat on Al-Hilal player Ali Albulayhi in a disgusting act that he will be keen to forget.
Did Cristiano Ronaldo wipe sweat on a rival?
In a strange altercation, Ronaldo wiped his back, before placing his hand on the face of Albulayhi whilst the pair waited for a set piece to be taken. We’ve seen strange techniques used before when winding opposition defenders up, but Ronaldo’s vile act tops our list.
Aliulayhi didn’t quite know how to react to the unexpected incident, and simply continued to mark the iconic forward.
The moment threatened to overshadow what was otherwise a day of success for Ronaldo, as he scored both of the goals in his side’s 2-1 victory after extra time.
He wasn’t the only one to lose his head, either, with Al-Nassr’s Abdulelah Al-Amri and substitute Nawaf Boushal both receiving their marching orders, before extra time.
Even when down to nine men, Ronaldo still found the winning goal against all odds, finding the back of the net in the eighth minute of extra time.
How much is Cristiano Ronaldo paid per week?
We’ve already seen just how much money is involved in transfers to Saudi Arabia this summer with the likes of Jordan Henderson seeing their salaries significantly increase with moves away from their clubs. But, the question is, how much does Ronaldo earn per week?
According to reports, the legendary forward earns £173m a year at Al-Nassr in what is a staggering amount, which works out to £3.6m a week. It’s fair to say that his move from Manchester United has been worth it, from a financial point of view at least.
As the season gets going in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo will be keen to pick up his first league title, too, after narrowly missing out in the last campaign to Al-Ittihad.
Saudi Pro League 2023/24: Major Transfers and Rumours
It won’t be easy, however, given how many sides have strengthened, including Al-Ittihad.
The champions are set to line up with Benzema, Jota, and Kante to boost their chances of a successful title defence even further.
Meanwhile, Al-Hilal, who Al-Nassr defeated in the cup final, have welcomed Malcom, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Ruben Neves in what has been an incredible summer transfer window.
With plenty of Europe’s former stars lining up, the Saudi Pro League could be an interesting one to watch this season.