Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club, has been banned from registering new players due to “outstanding debts”, FIFA has said.
Ronaldo, the former attacker of Manchester United and Real Madrid, moved to the Middle East in January and in the meantime a load of big names followed his example during the summer mercato.
“The relevant ban will be lifted immediately once the settlement of the debts has been confirmed by the affected creditors,” a FIFA spokesperson stressed. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has an estimated net worth of more than $600 billion, bought a majority stake in Al Nassr and three other Saudi clubs in June.
Al Nassr, last season’s number two at the highest level in Saudi Arabia, plucked Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan earlier this summer.