Zamalek exit Arab Cup after Ronaldo's late equalizer

Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Zamalek. Photo: Al-Nassr twitter account

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Zamalek's hopes of advancing to the next round of the ongoing Arab Cup were dashed as they conceded a late goal by Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, resulting in a 1-1 draw against Al-Nassr on Thursday. 

 The White Knights needed a victory to secure their place in the competition's next stage, and they came close to achieving their goal when Ahmed "Zizo" Sayed converted a penalty seven minutes into the second half, giving them a 1-0 lead.

However, Ronaldo rescued his team by scoring the equalizer with a well-executed header just three minutes before the final whistle.

Zamalek finished the group stage in third place with four points, three points behind leaders Al-Shabab, who also won their match against Monastir 1-0 on Thursday.

Al-Nassr secured the other qualifying ticket from the group by finishing in second place with five points.

Opportunities were scarce in the first half, with Zamalek dominating possession while Al-Nassr seemed satisfied with the draw, which was enough for them to advance to the quarterfinals.

The second half marked the debut of Al-Nassr's new signing, Sadio Mane, who joined the Saudi side from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

Just eight minutes into the second half, Zamalek striker Seif Jaziri won a penalty after the ball struck the hand of Alex Telles inside the box.

Penalty specialist Ahmed "Zizo" Sayed confidently converted the spot-kick with a powerful shot that found the back of the net.

In an attempt to avoid an early exit, Ronaldo and Mane increased the pressure to score the equalizer, but they failed to pose a significant threat.

However, with three minutes remaining, Cristiano Ronaldo outjumped his marker, Mohamed Abdel-Ghani, and easily headed the ball home from close range.

Zamalek made desperate efforts to score the winning goal in the remaining minutes, but their mission proved unsuccessful. 

Alex Telles leaves Man United to join Ronaldo at Saudi team Al-Nassr

Alex Telles. Official Website

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Alex Telles joined the slew of soccer stars heading to Saudi Arabia by completing a move from Manchester United to Al-Nassr on Sunday.

The Brazil international spent last season on loan at Sevilla, where he won the Europa League and reunites with his former United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

“We’d like to thank Alex for his contributions to the club over the last three years and would like to wish him all the best for the future,” United said in a statement.

The 30-year-old Telles is the latest player to leave one of Europe's top leagues for Saudi Arabia during this off-season, following the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino.

More are expected to head to the oil-rich country before the start of next season, with Riyad Mahrez and Jordan Henderson also linked with moves.

Telles joined United from Porto in 2020. He has signed a contract with Al-Nassr until 2025.

Neither club confirmed the price of his move.

Lens captain Fofana heads for Saudi club Al-Nassr

Lens Ivorian midfielder Seko Fofana reacts after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between RC Lens and Bordeaux at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium, in Lens, on February 13, 2022. RC Lens captain Seko Fofana will move next season to Al-Nassr, the Saudi Arabian club where Cristiano Ronaldo plays, the two clubs and the player announced simultaneously on July 18, 2023 via social networks. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP)

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Lens captain Seko Fofana confirmed on Tuesday he has accepted an offer to join Al-Nassr, the Saudi Arabian club where Cristiano Ronaldo plays.

"I leave you with the feeling of accomplishment and pride at being a part of this history which is ours," Fofana, 28, wrote in a farewell video posted on Instagram.

The Ivorian international midfielder played 112 times for the northern French outfit scoring 21 goals in three years.

He departs as Lens return to the Champions League for the first time in 21 years, following an exceptional season during which they finished second in Ligue 1 one point behind Paris Saint-Germain.

"Seko is here," Al-Nassr wrote on Twitter.

Fofana joins Ronaldo, Croatian international Marcelo Brozovic and Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina at the Riyadh-based club.

Other big names who have headed for Saudi Arabia in recent weeks include French players Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante at Al-Ittihad with Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly and Portuguese Ruben Neves playing at Al-Hilal.

Fofana, who captained Lens 72 times, was one of the best players in Ligue 1 last season.

He was the only midfielder shortlisted for the best player in the championship alongside four forwards -- Kylian Mbappe, Lois Openda, Jonathan David and Lionel Messi.

"I want, on behalf of the club, to especially salute an exemplary captain who has been sparkling and has shown leadership for three seasons," said RC Lens general manager Arnaud Pouille.

"Proof of his deep attachment to Racing, he will very soon become the first player leaving a club to become a shareholder," he said.

Fofana spent his youth career at Paris FC, his hometown club, and Lorient, before signing his first contract with Manchester City in 2014, but never played a professional match for the club.

Loaned to Fulham then Bastia, he then played four years for Serie A club Udinese before joining Lens, just promoted to Ligue 1, in the summer of 2020.

RC Lens also announced the departure of Polish international Adam Buksa, on loan to Turkish club Antalyaspor with the option to buy.

FIFA to lift Saudi club Al Nassr’s ban when debt to Leicester is paid

FILE - Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during his official unveiling as a new member of Al Nassr soccer club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Photo: AP

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr will have their FIFA ban on registering new players lifted when they settle a debt with Leicester, the world football governing body said Thursday.

Al Nassr were ordered to pay English club Leicester 460,000 euros ($513,000) plus annual interest of 5% in an October 2021 ruling by a FIFA-appointed judge at its players’ status committee.

Leicester filed the complaint in April 2021 because of unpaid additional clauses due from the 18 million euros ($20 million) sale of Nigerian forward Ahmed Musa in 2018.

Currently, Al Nassr – which were taken under majority ownership last month by the $700 billion sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund – can still buy new players though not register them to play.

“The club Al Nassr are currently prevented from registering new players due to outstanding debts,” FIFA said Thursday. “The relevant bans will be lifted immediately upon the settlement of the debts being confirmed by the creditors concerned.”

Al Nassr’s signing of Ronaldo as a free agent in January sparked an unprecedented spree of spending by clubs in the Saudi Pro League, with four now majority-owned by PIF. The fund is chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Al Nassr signed Croatia midfielder Marcelo Brozovic this month from Inter Milan in a transfer reportedly valued at 18 million euros ($20 million).

Musa left Al Nassr in 2020 and played last season with Sivasspor in Turkey.

Croatia midfielder Brozovic joins Ronaldo at Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr

This handout picture released by Saudi Arabia s al-Nassr football club on July 3, 2023 shows Nassr s new Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic (R) with the club s Executive President Ahmed al-Ghamdi after signing with them in Paris. AFP

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Croatia midfielder Marcelo Brozovic is the latest elite player taking advantage of the Saudi Arabian league’s riches by joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. 

The move means Brozovic will go from having played in the Champions League final in his last match with Inter Milan — as team captain — to a league that is just starting to emerge on the international stage.

“Everyone wanted him. He wanted only us,” Al-Nassr said in a tweet announcing Brozovic’s arrival Monday.

Media reports said the transfer fee was 18 million euros ($20 million) and that Brozovic has agreed to a three-year deal worth more than 25 million euros (nearly $30 million) per season.

Inter could use the money from the sale to help it re-purchase Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.

Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in December with a deal reportedly worth up to $200 million a year.

More recently, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibali and Edouard Mendy have also moved to the Saudi Arabian league.

Al-Nassr also announced Nike as its new uniform sponsor for next season, with the club to start wearing the swoosh during a tour of Japan at the end of the month.

The 30-year-old Brozovic is a versatile midfielder who spent the last nine seasons at Inter.

Ronaldo will 'never give up' playing for Portugal

Portugal s forward Cristiano Ronaldo (R) reacts after Portugal s midfielder Bruno Fernandes scored a goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 group J qualification football match between Portugal and Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Luz stadium in Lisbon on June 17, 2023. (Photo by Patricia DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)

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Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday he would "never give up" playing for Portugal as he prepares to make his 200th international appearance against Iceland in Euro 2024 qualifying.

The 38-year-old set a new men's international record when he won his 197th cap against Liechtenstein in March.

"I will never give up coming here (to the Portugal national team), because it's always a dream," he told a press conference in Reykjavik ahead of Tuesday's match.

"Reaching 200 international matches isn't for just anyone, it shows the love I have for my country and my team."

Ronaldo has scored four goals in three games since Roberto Martinez took over as Portugal coach earlier this year, but failed to find the net in last week's 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"It would be spectacular to crown my 200th international game with a goal," added Ronaldo, the all-time men's record international scorer with 122 goals.

"I'm not chasing records, they're chasing me. I'm happy because it's part of my motivation to continue at the highest level with the team.

"It's something I never thought I'd accomplish."

Martinez confirmed that the striker, who now plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, would start the game.

"A player reaching 200 matches, that's unique," said the former Belgium boss.

"It's a source of pride for Portuguese football."

Portugal are already cruising towards a place at next year's Euro in Germany, sitting top of Group J after scoring 13 goals without reply in three straight wins.

Sovereign fund acquires ownership of 4 clubs to boost investment in Saudi league

Saudi Arabia s Public Investment Fund has taken control of Cristiano Ronaldo s club Al Nassr.

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Cristiano Ronaldo is already in Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema looks sure to be next. And as the oil-rich kingdom pursues Lionel Messi as well, it is making sure that money continues to flow into the domestic soccer league.

Saudi Arabia's push to attract the world's best players entered another phase Monday when the sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund took a majority ownership stake in four of the country's top clubs, including Ronaldo's Al Nassr. The move is part of a “privatization project” that encourages public sector organizations to invest in sports, with soccer teams a priority under the initiative backed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The PIF already owns Premier League club Newcastle and manages more than $600 billion of the oil-rich kingdom’s assets. Unlike the Premier League and other European teams, Saudi clubs are not bound by UEFA's rules on spending, meaning there is no limit to the salaries the PIF can offer to lure top players to the Middle East. Aside from Al Nassr, it now owns a 75% share of Al Ittihad, Al Ahli and Al Hilal, the Asian Champions League winner in 2019 and 2021.

“The transfer of the four clubs will unleash various commercial opportunities, including investment, partnership and sponsorships across numerous sports,” said the PIF.

Monday's announcements seemed to effectively nationalize the top level of domestic soccer as a state project — part of the Vision 2030 national development policy promoted by the crown prince, better known as MBS, who is also prime minister of the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's ambition to become a major force in world soccer was made clear when Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January for a reported salary of $200 million a year, after he fell out of favor at Manchester United.

Monday's initiatives made it clear that a growing list of top players could soon get lucrative offers to join Ronaldo in the Middle East.

"The Saudi Pro League … will be supported in its ambition to be amongst the top 10 leagues in the world,” the state-owned Saudi Press Agency said in a news release.

Benzema’s move to join his former long-time Real Madrid teammate in the Saudi league is expected to be confirmed this week. He played an emotional farewell game Sunday after 14 years with the 14-time European champion.

Messi played his last game for Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday and is weighing offers from Saudi Arabia and Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. He favors a potential return to Barcelona, Messi's father said Monday in Barcelona, where he spent 16 years before reluctantly leaving the financially troubled club for PSG in 2021.

The Saudi league has players from “over 40 different countries and has seen attendances increase by nearly 150% in the last year,” the statement from the SPA said. “The privatization and ownership transfer of clubs aims to accelerate progress in a variety of sports across the kingdom further growing participation, providing cutting edge facilities, increasing competition and nurturing future champions."

Saudi Arabia is also widely expected to bid to host or co-host the men’s World Cup, either in 2030 or 2034, with speculation fueled by the crown prince building strong public ties to FIFA president Gianni Infantino in recent years. Building the profile of domestic soccer would be a logical step toward Saudi soccer’s global ambitions.

Saudi Arabia’s homegrown players are also flourishing.

The national team stunned Messi and Argentina with a 2-1 victory in their opening game at the World Cup in Qatar in November, and the Al-Hilal club won the Asian Champions League title in 2019 and 2021.

No swag, but Ronaldo puts swagger in Saudi football

Al-Nassr s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo gestures during the Saudi Pro League football match between Al-Nassr and Al-Ettifaq at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam on May 27, 2023. Photo AFP

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Cristiano Ronaldo's first season in Saudi Arabia ended with a whimper, but with hundreds of millions in wages and unprecedented attention on Saudi football he may not be the last megastar to grace the oil-rich kingdom.

The fireworks and euphoria that greeted Ronaldo's gala unveiling in January were in sharp contrast to the close of Al Nassr's season, when the Portuguese sat out a 3-0 win against Al Fateh late on Wednesday.

Despite signing the five-time Ballon d'Or-winner in a two-and-a-half-year deal said to total 400 million euros ($428 million), Al Nassr finished second in the Saudi Pro League without any silverware, although they qualified for the Asian Champions League as a consolation.

Ronaldo scored 14 goals including five penalties but it was a "disappointing season" for the Riyadh club, said Moqbel Al-Zabni, editor-in-chief of the Saudi capital's Al Riyadiah newspaper.

"They needed at least one championship."

Fan frustrations aside, however, the 38-year-old remains a marketing coup for Saudi football and the wider country, which is attempting to reinvent itself as a magnet for tourism and foreign investment.

According to a source close to the negotiations, the major oil exporter is also about to land a "huge" deal for Ronaldo's ex-La Liga sparring partner Lionel Messi, the World Cup-winning Argentine icon.

Reports have linked a string of other big names to the Saudi Pro League thanks to the riches of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth vehicle behind LIV Golf and the purchase of Premier League club Newcastle United, as well as Ronaldo's signing.

Saudi Arabia is also considering bidding for the World Cup, following in the footsteps of its neighbour Qatar, and has already explored joining forces with Egypt and Greece to present a tri-continental option.

Saudi Arabia's lavish spending on sport is often criticised as "sportswashing" -- an attempt to shift the focus from its record on human rights.

The conservative monarchy executed 81 people in a single day last year, outlaws homosexuality and triggered international condemnation when journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Ronaldo has said little in public since arriving in Riyadh with his model girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez -- a highly bankable influencer with 49.5 million Instagram followers -- and five children.

After mistakenly calling the country "South Africa" when he was first welcomed at Al Nassr, last week he backed the Saudi Pro League to become one of the best in the world.

"Step by step, I think this league will be a top-five league in the world," he said in a post-match interview.

Although it quickly became clear that the veteran player could not win games single-handed, Saudi football has never enjoyed such attention.

Al Nassr's Twitter followers have jumped from 800,000 to more than four million, and swelled from two million to 14 million-plus on Instagram.

Women fans, barred from football stadiums until just a few years ago, have become a common sight, while Ronaldo has also drawn many families with children.

"Saudi football has become the talk of most international news agencies and media," Saudi writer Musaed Al-Abdali wrote in his column for Al Riyadiah.

Egyptian sports analyst Ahmed Afify said Ronaldo could not be blamed for the trophy-less season, pointing to injuries to other players including Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina.

"He (Ronaldo) showed great commitment and did not act like a big star towards his team-mates," Afify said.

However, some fans were not impressed with what they saw of Ronaldo, who sometimes appeared anonymous.

"In many matches it was difficult to locate him on the field," commented sports journalist Hawass Al-Ayed.

After Al Nassr drew against a modest Al Khaleej outfit two weeks ago, fan Mubarak Al-Shehri lashed out at Ronaldo's "bad and incomprehensible performance".

Another fan, Ibrahim Al-Suwailem, wearing the traditional Saudi white robes, questioned the decision to buy Ronaldo.

"Ronaldo alone is not enough," he said, adding: "Is it worth this huge amount? It's a deal for publicity, and the fans want championships at the end of the day."