- Nasima Akter
Cristiano Ronaldo Spotted Celebrating Founding Day
February 22 marks Founding Day in Saudi Arabia and football star Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted joining the celebrations with his teammates.
Founding Day celebrates the day Imam Muhammad bin Saud helped found Saudi Arabia in 1727. As of last year, Founding Day is a national holiday per a royal decree by King Salman. The four-day holiday features a host of cultural events across Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo and the Founding Day Celebrations
The Portuguese star was in a rest period after the victory over Al-Taawoun on Friday and joined the festivities with his Al-Nassr teammates. Ronaldo donned an authentic daglah robe to mark the occasion, and several photos and videos showed him having fun with his teammates.
In a video posted on Al-Nassr FC's official Twitter account, the footballer is wearing a white Saudi thobe and drinking Saudi coffee, a traditional gesture of hospitality in the Kingdom.
The thobe is a national dress in Saudi Arabia, typically worn by men as a full-length, gown-like garment with long sleeves.
Al-Nassr FC's official Twitter also had several photos of the celebrations. One photo showed Ronaldo wearing a navy blue and gold-printed daglah over the thobe.
Cristiano also shared a video of the celebrations on his Twitter page. The footage showed Ronaldo and his teammates in traditional Saudi dress and wielding ceremonial swords. The post read, "Happy founding day to Saudi Arabia. Was a special experience to participate in the celebration at @AlNassrFC!"
Previous and Related Social Media Posts
Before the posts featuring Ronaldo celebrating Founding Day, the player made headlines for social posts featuring his birthday. Al-Nassr also made headlines following Ronaldo's birthday weekend by posting a video of the team presenting the birthday celebrant with a cake on the field.
He also made the headlines for a video showing him greeting Bangladeshi fans with, “Salam Alaikum [peace be upon you] Bangladesh! Bye-bye.”
A week prior to Founding Day, Ronaldo's mother, Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, shared a photo on Instagram that delighted his Saudi fans. The picture featured herself with Ronaldo's son, Cristiano Jr., dressed in a thobe.
Ronaldo's Status So Far
Recently, Ronaldo recorded his first and second assists for his new club in the match against Al-Taawoun on Friday.
Since joining the Knights of Najd in January, Ronaldo has made five appearances and scored five goals. Before this, he failed to score in his opening two games.
He scored his first goal in a 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh. The four other goals were part of a four-goal haul against Al-Wehda to break 500 career club goals.
What's Next for Al-Nassr?
Currently, the Al Nassr club is leading the race to secure their 10th Saudi league title. Ronaldo's team is at the top of the table with 40 points, edging out Al Ittihad and Al Shabab on goal difference.
Their next match will be against Damac on February 25. Damac is 7th in the standings with five wins out of seventeen games.
The Saudi Pro League is at its 18th matchday out of 30, and the next match is between Al-Taawoun and Al Feiha. Al-Taawoun is currently 5th in the league standings with nine wins out of seventeen matches, while Al-Feiha is twelfth with five wins out of sixteen.
