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Ronaldo celebrates Saudi National Day, saying Kingdom is ‘safe place’ with ‘very good’ tourism and culture

Ronaldo celebrates Saudi National Day, saying Kingdom is ‘safe place’ with ‘very good’ tourism and culture
Al-Nassr’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo described the Kingdom as a “safe place” with “very good” tourism as he wished the Saudi fans, citizens and leadership a Happy Saudi National Day on Tuesday. (X/@Cristiano)
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Updated 23 September 2025

Ronaldo celebrates Saudi National Day, saying Kingdom is ‘safe place’ with ‘very good’ tourism and culture

Ronaldo celebrates Saudi National Day, saying Kingdom is ‘safe place’ with ‘very good’ tourism and culture
  • Portuguese Al-Nassr striker says he and his family love being in Saudi “because it is a great country”
  • “Wishing you a day filled with pride, unity, and celebration with your loved ones,” he wrote on X

BEIRUT: Al-Nassr’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo described the Kingdom as a “safe place” with “very good” tourism as he wished the Saudi fans, citizens and leadership a Happy Saudi National Day on Tuesday.
Celebrating with citizens the 95th Saudi National Day, the Portuguese striker said that ֱ was a fantastic place to live, and “for me it’s the most special thing, it’s a safe country!”
The Roshn Saudi League is “good” and it “is our job to come in here, and to play football.”
He said that he and his family love being in ֱ “because it is a great country.”


In a 52-second-long video that he posted as a story, and on his Instagram profile, 40-year-old Ronaldo talked about the positives he sees in the Kingdom.
“I think they have many things to do … tourism is very good. The schools for the kids are very nice. The tourist parts are very beautiful.”
“I recommend that the people who don’t know ֱ should come to visit because tourism is fantastic and the culture is amazing,” he said.
His Instagram post garnered about 748,000 likes within six hours.

Meanwhile, the Al-Nassr forward wrote on his X handle: “Happy Saudi National Day to everyone in ֱ … Wishing you a day filled with pride, unity, and celebration with your loved ones.”
The Portuguese international shared images of himself dressed in Saudi attire (white traditional kandura) with a green and white (colors of the Saudi flag) scarf around his neck and shoulders, in a post that was viewed more than 15.5 million times.
His post on X garnered 307,000 likes, 33,000 retweets and 7,300 comments.
Ronaldo shared a photograph of himself with Al-Nassr’s coach, Jorge Jesus, who also donned a traditional outfit.


Nikola Jokic carries Nuggets past Warriors in NBA Cup

Nikola Jokic carries Nuggets past Warriors in NBA Cup
Updated 14 sec ago

Nikola Jokic carries Nuggets past Warriors in NBA Cup

Nikola Jokic carries Nuggets past Warriors in NBA Cup

Nikola Jokic had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Jamal Murray finished with 23 points and eight assists, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors 129-104 in the West Group C NBA Cup play on Friday night.

Aaron Gordon contributed 18 points, Jonas Valanciunas finished with 16 points, Christian Braun had 12 and Peyton Watson 10 for Denver, which is 1-1 in pool play.

Golden State played without Steph Curry for the second straight game due to an illness but got Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III back after a one-game absence. Al Horford (left foot) also didn’t play.

Green had 17 points and made a season-high five 3-pointers while Butler finished with 16 points. Quinten Post scored 14 points, Will Richard had 12 points and Pat Spencer 10 for the Warriors, who played their first NBA Cup game.

Green hit a 3-pointer to open the game to give Golden State the early lead, but that was the last time it was in front.

The Nuggets went up by 14 late in the first quarter before the Warriors made a run. They cut the deficit to 11 after the first and scored the first 10 points of the second to get within 32-31.

Denver responded with a flurry to take back control. Murray hit two 3-pointers, Valanciunas drained his first from deep, made a turnaround hook and then capped a 19-3 run with another 3-pointer that gave the Nuggets a 51-34 lead.

Murray kept the offense humming with two more from behind the arc on his way to 16 points in the period. Denver was ahead by as much as 19 before taking a 66-49 advantage into halftime.

Green tried to keep Golden State close with two more 3-pointers to get within 71-60 but the Nuggets again opened the advantage.

Jokic hit a cutting layup, Gordon threw down a thunderous dunk and Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a jumper to make it 83-66. Denver closed the period strong to lead 99-77 heading into the fourth and led by as much as 28 in the final 12 minutes.