FIFA announced on Thursday that Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian club, has been banned from registering new players until they settle a debt with Leicester City. The debt stems from unpaid additional clauses related to the €18 million ($20 million) transfer of Nigerian forward Ahmed Musa in 2018.
The FIFA-appointed judge at its players’ status committee ruled in October 2021 that Al Nassr must pay Leicester €460,000 ($513,000), along with 5% annual interest.
Despite the ban, Al Nassr, which recently came under majority ownership of the $700 billion sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund, can still sign new players but cannot register them to play. FIFA stated that the bans will be lifted as soon as the club settles the outstanding debts confirmed by the relevant creditors.
The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo by Al Nassr as a free agent in January triggered an unprecedented spending spree by clubs in the Saudi Pro League. Currently, four clubs in the league are majority-owned by the Public Investment Fund, which is chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Al Nassr made another notable signing this month, acquiring Croatia midfielder Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan in a transfer reportedly valued at €18 million ($20 million).
Al Nassr is currently in Portugal for a preseason training camp and has a qualifying playoff match in the Asian Champions League scheduled for August 22. They will host either Shabab Al Ahli from the United Arab Emirates or Jordan’s Al Wehdat. Ahmed Musa, who previously played for Al Nassr, left the club in 2020 and spent the last season with Sivasspor in Turkey.
Source – myjoyonline.com
