Cristiano Ronaldo: When Man Utd icon styled on Al-Nassr's local rivals in 2008 | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for Al-Nassr on Sunday evening.

After weeks of anticipation since his lucrative move to Saudi Arabia, fans at Mrsool Park finally got to see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner that they signed for a small fortune in match action.

Yes, supporters had already watched Ronaldo take part in open training sessions and the exhibition match against Paris Saint-Germain, but the arrival of his long-awaited bow against Ettifaq FC felt like a huge occasion nonetheless.

Why did Ronaldo play Al-Nassr’s rivals in 2008?

Only, it wasn’t the first time that Ronaldo has locked horns with a Saudi Arabian team, nor was it the first time that he’s slugged it out with one of Al-Nassr’s biggest rivals.

And we say that because Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr debut couldn’t help reminding us of when Manchester United did battle with Al-Hilal in January 2008.

A testimonial match for Sami Al-Jaber, the Red Devils took part in the fixture as part of a mid-season training camp just months before they lifted the Premier League and Champions League trophies.

, United pocketed a cool £1 million for their participation in the match as they made a 6,500-mile round trip to fulfil the promise.

Al-Hilal, for reference, are arguably Al-Nassr’s biggest rivals as they are both based in the Saudi Arabian capital, thus meaning that their meetings are widely regarded as the Riyadh derby.

How did Ronaldo play for Man Utd vs Al-Hilal?

So, what happened when United and Ronaldo took on Al-Hilal all those years ago? Well, on paper, it went pretty poorly because it was actually the Saudi side that ran away 3-2 victors.

Nevertheless, Ronaldo did find himself on the scoresheet as he converted a glancing header in the first-half, but more important than the statistics and goals was the nature of his performance.

That’s because the manner in which Ronaldo played at the King Fahd International Stadium was so notable that years later, a viral YouTube video titled: “The Day Ronaldo Turned Football Game into the Circus,” amassed millions and millions of views.

And it contained Ronaldo’s individual highlights from that very match in Saudi Arabia with the great man rising to the spirit of the occasion by unabashedly opting for style over substance.

In other words, Ronaldo alone made the entry fee worthwhile because he leaned into the fact that it was a testimonial match and decided to put on a show with skills, tricks and flicks galore.

It truly does make for engrossing viewing seeing Ronaldo embracing his playful side so openly and Al-Nassr fans will only love it even more for the fact that it transpired against their biggest rivals.

Video: Ronaldo ‘Turned Football Game into the Circus’ vs Al-Hilal

How did football fans react?

Pretty much every time the ball arrived at Ronaldo’s feet, he just couldn’t resist pulling out the party tricks – and you can hear how much the crowd in Riyadh loved it.

In terms of entertainment, this was Ronaldo at the peak of his powers, not afraid to compromise on efficiency in order to leave defenders mesmerised with a gorgeous flash of footwork.

And who knows, maybe it’s a side to Ronaldo’s game that we’ll see him lean into more and more now that he’s back in the very nation where he put on such a flamboyant performance.

Don’t get it twisted, the Saudi Pro League is a much more competitive environment than a friendly match, but we’ve nevertheless seen signs from Ronaldo’s masterclass against PSG that he could well indulge his flashier side since leaving Manchester United.

And if he does, you just know that it will make for compulsive viewing.

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