- Portuguese in pre-season action
- Has worked with Nike since 2003
- Changed his usual shin protectors
WHAT HAPPENED? The Portuguese superstar was in action for Saudi Arabian employers Al-Nassr on Monday as they took in a friendly date with Celta Vigo. Ronaldo made his first appearance of pre-season in that contest, with the captain’s armband taken on. All of the goals in a 5-0 defeat for Al-Nassr came after Ronaldo and new signing Marcelo Brozovic had been replaced, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has still made post-match headlines after appearing to don equipment produced by rivals of his Nike apparel suppliers.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ronaldo has been tied to Nike since 2003, while a lifetime deal with the U.S. sporting goods giant worth a reported $1 billion (£775m) was said to have been thrashed out in 2016. That lucrative contract has seen Ronaldo star in a number of promotional adverts, while working his way through over 70 different pairs of Nike boots, but he looked to be wearing adidas X Pro shin pads against Celta.
WHAT NEXT? Ronaldo usually wears shin pads that have been customised with images of his own face, so there must be a reason why he has made a change ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. The 38-year-old may have some explaining to do with Nike, but he is still working on the biggest contract in world football at Al-Nassr – with said deal worth £177m ($228m) a year.