Cristiano Ronaldo didn't have the best of months in November 2022.
First, he and Manchester United mutually agreed to end his contract, after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan on national TV.
Then, the FA issued him with a worldwide two-match ban and a £50,000 fine for smashing an Everton fan's phone during a Premier League game at Goodison Park last April.
The Portuguese star has since moved to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he was unveiled ahead of a training session on Tuesday night. With the ban imposed after Manchester United played Fulham on November 13, and before the club played its next competitive match on December 21 against Burnley - by which point he had left the club - Ronaldo still has both games to serve on the sidelines.
Ronaldo should therefore miss Al-Nassr's game against Al-Ta'ee in the Saudi Pro League today [Thursday], as well as next Saturday's encounter with Al-Shabab.
However, the Daily Mail are reporting that the 37-year-old could ignore the two-match FA ban and still make his Al-Nassr debut today, risking further punishment.
Al-Nassr haven't confirmed whether Ronaldo and the club will accept the FA-imposed ban, which is backed by FIFA rules. Indeed, club executives are still trying to determine if there is a way to ensure Ronaldo still makes it onto the pitch for his debut.
The British newspaper reports that a source said: "He is 85 per cent certain not to play the first match over the Everton issue."
The ban came after Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Everton in April, when Ronaldo slapped the phone out of the hand of a 14-year-old boy just before walking down the tunnel at the end of the game.
The Independent FA panel, chaired by Christopher Quinlan KC, found Ronaldo guilty of "a deliberate and forceful slap down" which was described as "a petulant act".
If he does play, though, ramifications for Ronaldo and the club could include further bans and hefty fines.
