Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Season to kick off Ronaldo museum

A museum tracing the illustrious career and feats of Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo will be unveiled in Riyadh at a flagship entertainment festival due to start later this month.

Ronaldo, who plays for the Saudi club Al Nassr, will inaugurate the museum set up in a gesture of appreciation to his career as part of the upcoming Riyadh Season.

The mobile museum, due to open on October 28, will showcase all the prizes and “inspiring” tales of the 38-year-old superstar.

Last January, Ronaldo joined the Riyadh-based Al Nassr under a two-and-half-year hefty deal that made global headlines.

Launched in 2019, the Riyadh Season is meant to turn the Saudi capital into as a global entertainment and tourist destination.

The second edition of the festival kicked off in October 2021 after it was suspended the previous year due to the global pandemic.

Last month, head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Turki Alasheikh said they expect 10-12 million visitors at the fourth edition of the Riyadh Season due to kick off on October 28.

“We target 1 million tourists from outside the kingdom,” he told Asharq News TV. He added that 40 per cent of the anticipated revenue from the event has already been achieved through sponsorship deals.

“The opening will be historic and unprecedented. We’ll surprise the world,” he added.

This year’s Riyadh Season will also feature a 28 October showdown between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou in what is dubbed the “Battle of the Baddest”.