Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez set to break Saudi Arabia law, lawyers have had their say

Posted Friday, January 06, 2023 by sportbible

Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez are set to break a law in Saudi Arabia after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner signed with Al Nassr.

After becoming a free agent following his Manchester United termination, Ronaldo has penned a two-and-a-half year deal for the Saudi Pro League outfit and is in line to earn a record-breaking £173 million per season.

He jetted in to Riyadh, Saudi's capital, earlier this week before being officially presented as Al Nassr's biggest ever signing.

Ronaldo's family were also brought out onto the pitch at Nassr's Mrsool Park during the ceremony.

There's no word on where the clan will be residing during their adventure in the Middle East but Ronaldo and Georgina will be breaking the law in Saudi Arabia by living together.

In Saudi Arabia, it is illegal to live in the same house without being married. Ronaldo and his other half met when she worked at a Gucci store in Madrid back in 2016 and they have two children together, Bella and Alana.

Ronaldo also has eldest son Cristiano Jr and twins Eva and Mateo, who were all born from surrogate mothers.

But Ronaldo and Georgina are yet to be married and so they would technically be falling foul of the law by sharing the same roof in Saudi.

However, SPORT, citing an EFE report, say that Ronaldo, being one of the most marketable athletes in the world, is likely to be let off the hook.

Two Saudi lawyers both expect the relevant authorities to pass on punishing the power couple.

One said: "Although the laws still prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract, the authorities have begun to turn a blind eye and do not persecute anyone. Of course, these laws are used when there is a problem or a crime."

A second added: "The Saudi Arabian authorities, today, do not interfere in this matter [in the case of foreigners], but the law continues to prohibit cohabitation outside of marriage."

Ronaldo has said he wants to marry Georgina in the future, telling Piers Morgan that they both "deserve" it.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar will reportedly have to wait a short while to make his Al Nassr debut as he is still required to serve a two-match ban from during his time in England.

It stems from when Ronaldo was charged with improper conduct by the FA last year after he appeared to slap a boy's phone out of his hand while heading down the tunnel following United's 1-0 loss to Everton.

He was hit with a £50,000 fine and a two-game suspension.

There was some talk that Nassr were trying to explore ways to get around it but their clash with Al Ta'ee was postponed until Friday due to heavy rain affecting the stadium's electricity.