Ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at new Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, Daily Star Sport is taking a look back at eight of the most outlandish signing unveilings in football history
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be unveiled as an Al-Nassr player after his shock move to Saudi Arabia was completed last week.
The 37-year-old has jetted in to the Middle Eastern country and will be presented at Mrsool Park this afternoon (January 3) during an open training session. There will no doubt be no expense spared considering he’s just signed a two-and-a-half year deal with a yearly salary of £177million.
And it could well become one of the most memorable signing unveilings ever. He does face stiff competition in that department – with Daily Star Sport taking a look back at the weird and wacky through the years.
Santi Cazorla
Al-Nassr will unveil Cristiano Ronaldo at an open training session (Image: Al Nassr Football Club/AFP via Getty)
Where else to start but with Santi Carzola’s absolutely crazy Villarreal unveiling. The La Liga club took inspiration from his “little magician” nickname by using an actual magician who conjured him up from thin air.
An empty container was filled with smoke before Carzola appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and was released. It was just a shame that only 1,000 or so people got to witness it in the flesh.
Paulo Dybala
Santi Cazorla’s Villarreal unveiling is one of the most bizarre of all-time (Image: Villarreal FC)
Thousands of Roma supporters were on hand to give Paulo Dybala a spine-tingling welcome (Image: Getty Images)
While Cazorla could have done with more people at his unveiling, there wasn’t any extra room when Roma welcomed new signing Paulo Dybala last summer.
An estimated crowd of 8,000 fans flocked to the Palace of Italian Civilisation in the capital, which almost reduced Dybala to tears as he thanked them for their support.
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson went half and half to represent his role as player-manager (Image: Getty Images)
Middlesbrough were faced with the task of unveiling Bryan Robson as both their new manager and player when he took on the dual role in 1994.
The solution they decided upon was to have Robson wear his suit on his top half and his kit on his bottom half, which made for hilarious pictures.
Brian Deane
Brian Deane was forced to pose with a pair of revolvers – for some reason (Image: Twitter/BTSportRob)
The most common prop which accompanies an unveiling photo is a piece of club merchandise, be it the traditional scarf above the head or the shirt hold to the side.
A pair of revolvers, however, is not what you expect to see. But for one reason or another, Leeds United handed them to new striker Brian Deane, who unfortunately failed to be a sharp shooter for them.
Diego Maradona
Naturally, the best receptions are reserved for the best players – and Diego Maradona’s Napoli unveiling was some spectacle. A mega 75,000 fans attended his presentation at the Stadio San Paolo, which is now named after the late legend.
There was also a heated moment during the press conference as Maradona was asked about the Camorra mafia group by a reporter who was subsequently kicked out by Napoli president Corrado Ferlaino.
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio was welcomed with an uncooked pizza at Sheffield Wednesday (Image: EMPICS Sport)
There’s a fine line between embracing culture and reinforcing stereotypes and Sheffield Wednesday probably crossed it when they announced the star signing of Paolo Di Canio.
They had the Italian pretend to munch on a shop-bought pizza, which hadn’t been cooked, alongside fellow countryman and new team-mate Benti Carbone.
Jesus Navas
The rise of social media has seen player unveilings mostly move from in person to on the internet, which has opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
Perhaps the wackiest of them all to date is Sevilla’s decision to have Jesus Navas fake kidnapped in his announcement video, which he thankfully emerged unscathed from
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo was greeted by a packed-out Santiago Bernabeu after signing for Real Madrid (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Ronaldo should have no nerves arriving in Saudi Arabia – because his Real Madrid unveiling was as big as an occasion as you can get.
The Santiago Bernabeu was full to the rafters with 80,000 Los Blancos supporters wanting to get a glimpse of their £80m arrival, who exclaimed: “This is incredible. Is there going to be a match or not?”
Georgina Rodriguez romance with beau Cristiano Ronaldo in crises: Report
Cristiano Ronaldo, Georgina Rodriguez reportedly hit rough patch after World Cup lost
Georgina Rodriguez romance with beau Cristiano Ronaldo in crises: Report
Georgina Rodriguez relationship with her boyfriend of five years is reportedly in crises after the sports star lost the Qatar World Cup.
A report by Marca Magazine alleged that the football star and Argentine-Spanish model are keeping their social media free of any controversy despite issues in their relationship.
The outlet claimed that the couple is not trying to end their relationship because it benefits both of their careers and their statuses.
“The recent disappointment of the player in the World Cup in Qatar with the Portuguese national team may have triggered a crisis and the wedding they had planned is on ‘standby’,” the outlet quoted Socialite.
Ronaldo, Rodriguez have been dating since 2017 after meeting at the Gucci store Rodriguez used to work at.
Neither the sports star nor Rodriguez have commented on the rumours surrounding their love life thus far.
Source: dailystar.co.uk; thenews.com.pk
