Ronaldo's Saudi move tipped to increase eyes on Asian football

When Cristiano Ronaldo is presented by Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on Tuesday in Riyadh, it will kick off a new era in Asian football.

Al-Nassr announced the signing of one of the world’s biggest sports stars on social media on Friday. Within 24 hours, the post was viewed more than 20 million times and the club gained about 2.5 million more followers.

There was a similar surge on Instagram, where the Portuguese star has more than 520 million followers, the most in the world. There, the announcement received more than 30 million likes.

“This agreement is more than writing a new historical chapter,” Al-Nassr president Musalli Al-Muammar said. He will present Ronaldo at the club stadium on Tuesday.

Ronaldo has won five European Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and Manchester United, but his controversial second tenure at the English club ended after 15 months with him as a bench regular without trophies and out of contract after it was prematurely terminated.

New coach Rudy Garcia has welcomed the free agent who has Al-Nassr dreaming of a first Asian title.

"The signing of a player the size of Cristiano Ronaldo is extraordinary, and contributes to the development of Saudi football,” said the Frenchman who has coached Lyon and Roma.

"We are happy with his arrival. The first goal is to work so he can adapt to our team, to enjoy playing for Al-Nassr, and to entertain the fans.”