Iranian football fans flock to see Ronaldo, Al-Nassr arrive in country for AFC Champions League match

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo fever on Monday hit Tehran as the Portuguese football star and his Al-Nassr teammates arrived in the Iranian capital.

The Saudi club are taking on Iranian team Persepolis at the city’s Azadi Stadium on Tuesday for their opening match of the AFC Champions League.

Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of fans outside the Espinas Palace Hotel in Tehran — where the Al-Nassr team will be staying — waiting to greet the team bus.

#PHOTO: Carpet sellers in #Iran making the most of the @Cristiano #Ronaldo fever in Tehran, as the legend and his @AlNassrFC_EN team arrive for their @TheAFCCL clash with @PersepolisFC https://t.co/Ei8SAu3Wmg pic.twitter.com/Wh94aw4ory

— Arab News | Sport (@ArabNewsSport) September 18, 2023

Images shared on X also showed a banner across a main road in Tehran welcoming Ronaldo and the team.

Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr at the start of this year, a move that sparked a flurry of top-level signings to the Saudi Pro League during the summer transfer window.

Al-Nassr fans will be hoping Ronaldo can bring AFC Champions League glory to the Riyadh club, which was runner-up in the competition in 1995.