In some positive news, Portugal soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo and his family have reportedly fled Saudi Arabia amid the ongoing US-Iran war.
According to The Daily Mail, Ronaldo’s $81M private jet departed Riyadh in the middle of the night on Monday after reports surfaced that two Iranian drones struck the US embassy in the Saudi capital. Ronaldo, his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, and his five children have lived in Riyadh over the past few years during his stint in the Saudi Pro League with club Al-Nassr.
The report added that Ronaldo’s jet landed in Madrid, Spain, early Tuesday morning.
“A flight tracker shows the Bombardier Global Express plane made the almost seven-hour journey to the Spanish capital,” wrote The Daily Mail’s Will Griffee.
“The luxury private jet departed at 8pm Saudi time and arrived at almost 1am Spanish time.”
Saudi Pro League Gets Shut Down
Not everyone has been as fortunate as Ronaldo.
Several high-profile athletes remain stranded in the Middle East amid the US-Iran war. Among those include tennis stars Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Tallon Griekspoor, who were in Dubai for the Dubai Open last week, and retired Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, who moved to the UAE in August with his family.
The Asian Football Confederation announced over the weekend that all the soccer leagues based in the Middle East have been temporarily shut down.
“In light of the developing situation in the Middle East, the Asian Football Confederation has confirmed that the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 Round of 16 first-leg matches in the West Region, originally scheduled for March 2-3, 2026, will now be rescheduled.
Cristiano Ronaldo Dealing With Injury
“Additionally, the AFC Champions League Two and AFC Challenge League quarter-final first-leg matches involving teams in the West Region, originally scheduled to be played between March 3 and 4, 2026, are also postponed until further notice.”
Ronaldo was expected to miss time with injury before escaping from Saudi Arabia. The all-time great suffered a muscle-related injury during his latest Saudi Pro League appearance against Al-Fahya, putting his status for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in doubt.
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