Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar – On a cool, late autumn night in Qatar, thousands of football fans converged upon the Al Bayt Stadium to catch a glimpse of one of the biggest sporting icons on the planet – Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese superstar, 39, and his Saudi football club Al Nassr were in town to face Qatar’s Al Gharafa Sports Club in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite Group B match on Monday.
Despite the stadium’s 50-kilometre (31 miles) distance from Qatar’s capital Doha, the late 7pm (16:00 GMT) weeknight kickoff and the competition’s relatively lower appeal to the average football fan in these parts, the event drew a staggering 37,000 spectators, or 12 percent of the entire population of the Gulf state.
‘Ronaldo, can I have your shirt?’
Among them were a few thousand loyal Al Gharafa fans and a few hundred travelling supporters backing the visiting team – but a large majority were unaligned spectators who simply turned up for a rare glimpse of Ronaldo, who is, undoubtedly, one of the most recognisable, charismatic and iconic sports personalities of the 21st century.
Foremost among the fans were waves of children of varying ages, nationalities and footballing loyalties.
Replica Ronaldo jerseys from his various football clubs – from Al Nassr to Real Madrid and Manchester United, as well as his national team Portugal – were common across the vast stands at Al Bayt Stadium, worn by kids and adults alike.
“I have been a Ronaldo fan my whole life, so I came to see him and ask him for his shirt,” Noufil Abdel Malik told Al Jazeera before kickoff.
Malik, just 12, had secured a seat behind the Al Nassr bench and held up a sign asking for Ronaldo’s shirt.
Al Nassr star shines in crucial AFC Champions League triumph
While none of the fans were lucky enough to have Ronaldo’s shirt thrown at them, the Al Nassr captain gave the spectators value for money, putting on a clinical match-winning display with two goals as his Saudi club prevailed with a 3-1 victory on the night.
The result brought Al Nassr on the brink of qualification for the competition’s round of 16. The Saudi Pro League club need two points from their final three group games to progress in the competition.
After the win, Ronaldo said that his fans, especially the younger ones, served as a huge source of motivation to continue playing the world game, despite the evergreen star striker turning 40 on February 5.
“It’s still my motivation to make my fans happy, especially kids as I have a few kids of my own at home,” Ronaldo told Al Jazeera in his post-match comments.
“The passion that children have is genuine. They love football so I just try to do my best [for them]. Score goals and make my team win.”
‘Being in Qatar is always good’
The match marked Ronaldo’s return to Qatar for the first time since the FIFA World Cup 2022, where he led Portugal to the quarterfinals.
The 1.87m forward admitted his return was a happy one as he added to his tally of a world record 915 senior career goals for club and country.
“Being back in Qatar is always good,” he said.
“To see the passion that people have for the club, for football and for me. I am happy that I was able to score two goals tonight and I am going back to Saudi Arabia a really happy man.”
Harshveer Singh, an eight-year-old Ronaldo fan, was one of the thousands of young supporters who came to Al Bayt Stadium dressed in Al Nassr’s blue and yellow kit with Ronaldo’s name and famous number seven emblazoned on the back.
“When I found out last week that Ronaldo will be in Qatar, I asked my dad to bring me here,” Singh said.
“I am thrilled to watch him play live.”
Young fans delighted to see Ronaldo live
Even younger fans, many of whom probably stayed up well past their bedtime, watched on in a daze as Ronaldo flaunted his trademark celebration as the sound of “siu” (roughly translated to “yes” in the Portuguese language) reverberated around the stadium.
Five-year-old Shahem al-Salem showed no signs of sleepiness even at 9pm – the excitement of watching the Ronaldo experience from a few metres away keeping the kindergarten student awake.
“I don’t think I’ll go to school tomorrow,” he remarked shyly while glancing at his father, who nodded along happily.
For a match involving a Qatari club playing at home, the crowd was unabashedly supportive of the visiting team and for most of the game, it seemed that neither the local fans nor the organisers seemed to take offence.
“Ronaldo has the power to bring people out of their homes and fill up stadiums no matter where he plays,” said Abdallah Abdel Razeq, an 18-year-old Lebanon national, after the match.
“I can assure you that out of the 37,000 people in the stadium, at least 35,000 came only to see him.”
