In order to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo, the new player for Al-Nassr, Saudi Arabia is apparently willing to relax its prohibition against non-married couples cohabiting.
After mutually terminating his contract with Premier League team Manchester United in December 2022, the 37-year-old Portuguese forward joined Al-Nassr and became the highest paid footballer.
But according to reports, Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez will be allowed to cohabitate without facing any consequences.
While playing for Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid in 2016, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner met Rodriguez. Since then, they have cohabitated as marital partners but without marriage and had five children.
The Daily Mail said on Friday that a source had confirmed that Ronaldo, who had already relocated to Saudi Arabia and was living with his wife, might not have been in compliance with the law.
Saudi Arabia forbids unmarried couples from cohabitating. According to the Daily Mail, Ronaldo’s reputation as one of the most marketable players in the world makes punishment unlikely.
The appropriate authorities are not anticipated to get involved in Ronaldo’s position, according to the article that cited two different Saudi lawyers.
“Although the laws still prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract, the authorities have begun to turn a blind eye and do not persecute anyone. Of course, these laws are used when there is a problem or a crime,” one of the legal practitioners said.
Daily Mail quoted the second one saying ”The Saudi Arabian authorities, today, do not interfere in this matter [in the case of foreigners], but the law continues to prohibit cohabitation outside of marriage.”
