Riyadh: Could the honeymoon period in Riyadh be over for star player Cristiano Ronaldo?

What was a match made in heaven between the Portuguese legend and Al-Nassr at the beginning of the year, has recently started to be questioned by football fans and pundits in the Kingdom.

From leading the Roshn Saudi League in Ronaldo’s early weeks in the country, Al-Nassr are now in a mini crisis.

Inconsistent results and unconfirmed reports of dressing room discord led to the sacking of coach Rudi Garcia, with senior players, led by Ronaldo, allegedly unhappy with the team’s tactics.

The 2-0 loss to Al-Hilal on April 18 was a major blow to Al-Nassr’s hopes of winning the league title they crave so much.

It could also be the day that public opinion started to turn on Ronaldo, and not just for events on the field of play.

What was perceived by some pundits as an obscene gesture — grabbing his crotch — toward Al-Hilal fans taunting him with chants of “Messi, Messi” angered many Saudi fans and pundits, with one lawyer calling for Ronaldo to be deported.

And there would be no redemption a few days later as Al-Nassr crashed out of the King’s Cup to Al-Wehda.

Now the murmurs of discontent have turned into outright skepticism, with many fans voicing their displeasure over his behavior on social media.

In a column for Arabic-language newspaper Al-Madinah, titled “Was signing Cristiano a winning or losing bet?”, Dr. Saud Kateb, former deputy minister for diplomacy at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, questioned whether the player’s move to Riyadh had delivered on its early promise, or indeed if it was the correct decision in the first place.

Kateb called for emotion to be put aside when evaluating the pros and cons of such a high-profile move, and other similar ones such as the hosting of major international events.

He said: “One should then differentiate between whether we are seeking to sign such athletes and host such events to enjoy them locally (which is definitely legitimate and required) or to achieve the objectives of our general diplomacy, which are also important.

“These objectives include boosting the nation’s image and branding as well as promoting tourism and investment in the country.

“The importance of this distinction lies in the fact that when these two directions overlap, the results and impact assessment criteria become unclear, while it is fully recognized that together, they represent objectives that are desired and required to sign athletes and host events.”

He noted that while personally welcoming the addition of such an exceptional talent to the Roshn Saudi League, he had questioned from the outset whether the expectations of the move would be realised, and if other high-profile, high-cost targets should be pursued just yet.

“There are several reasons behind my lack of optimism, which has angered some people. Firstly, I am convinced that excessively focusing on attracting the most famous and the biggest is not always the best way to achieve the objectives of our diplomacy and soft power.

“This is the case because, in addition to the huge cost of such moves, they are usually a double-edged sword, as the international media coverage that accompanies them does not only shed light on the positives. It also searches for the negatives and sometimes seeks to exaggerate and fabricate them,” Kateb added.

He pointed out that popularity in itself was not enough.

“In Cristiano’s case, it is wrong to assume that the fact that he has more than 100 million followers on social media is something positive under any circumstance.

“To form a more realistic picture in this regard, by simply scrolling through the comments that the player’s fans have left on international accounts, you will discover that they tend to be more negative than positive, especially during the period that followed the signing announcement.”

Kateb highlighted that while many people will trot out the line that any publicity is good publicity, Saudi Arabia had long surpassed the need to attract attention to its achievements.

On football, he said: “I think that it would be better to attract more useful players, whose excessive fame does not constitute an unnecessary burden for their clubs and the league as a whole.

“It is also important to focus on events, such as the Italian and Spanish super cups, and exert efforts to achieve impactful results similar to qualifying for the World Cup and beating Argentina.”

While not against attracting the best talent to the Kingdom, Kateb suggested that it be done in a calculated manner.

“What I have already mentioned certainly does not mean that we should completely forget the idea of attracting very well-known players and major events.

“However, it means that it should not be an objective by itself. The objectives should be carefully identified, while the priorities and various alternatives should be studied. All of that should be done away from the factors that rapidly cause a state of fascination, the results of which are not guaranteed,” he added.

Ronaldo, no doubt, remains hugely popular with many Al-Nassr supporters, and commands a global army of fans who hang on his every word, move, or social media post.

While their voices will be the loudest, those of Kateb and others like him should not be ignored either.