“Welcome Ronaldo!” The Iranians welcomed Portuguese star Al-Nasser on Monday, who arrived in Tehran to face local side Pesepolis, AFP reported. This match was made possible by the warming diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates were greeted by the cheers of dozens of Iranian fans as they stepped off the bus at Imam Khomeini Airport.
Ronaldo was presented with a gorgeous Persian carpet by the president of Persepolis. Huge banners with the words “Welcome!” with portraits of Al-Nasser’s footballers were hung on all the bridges across the Iranian capital, which is not used to welcoming world sports stars due to its diplomatic isolation.
“It’s very exciting,” said 28-year-old Navid Bornanifar, who is a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. He hopes to watch a good match between the stars of Al-Nasser and Persepolis.
Unfortunately, no supporters will be able to watch the match between the two teams live at the 90,000-capacity Azadi Stadium due to an Asian Confederation penalty imposed on Persepolis over a controversial message on the team’s Instagram account. However, the meeting will be televised.
Until the start of the match, the Al-Nasser players will be placed under security measures by the services that specialize in visiting presidents and politicians, according to the sports website Verzesh 3. They must prevent any contact between the fans and the players of the Saudi Arabian team. .
