This week the Asian Champions League begins and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr had to travel to Iran for his debut in the continental competition. The Iranian Persepolis receives the Arab team tomorrow at 8pm on the first day of group E and their arrival in Tehran has not left anyone indifferent.
Upon his arrival at the airport, the Iranian authorities gave him a Persian rug, one of the country's cultural symbols. At the same time, hundreds of fans were waiting for him at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, as well as along the road leading to his hotel.
Hundreds of fans ran after the bus carrying the Portuguese, while chanting and waving the player's jerseys in the wind, according to Iranian television. His hotel was surrounded by hundreds of fans, who came to occupy the lobby while shouting “Ronaldo, Ronaldo.”
In a video sent by @AlNassrFC you can see how many fans accompany the bus during its route to the concentration hotel, a sign of the Iranians' passion for football and for the Portuguese player.
In addition to Persepolis, in the Asian Champions group Cristiano Ronaldo will have to face Al-Duhail and FC Istiklol Dushanbe.
The Saudis return to play on Iranian soil after Riyadh and Tehran agreed in March to normalize their diplomatic relations, broken for seven years.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Tehran in 2016 after attacks on its diplomatic headquarters in that country following the execution in the Arab kingdom of a prominent Shiite cleric.
During all those years, Saudi and Iranian teams played on the soil of third countries, something that has come to an end to the joy of football fans in the Persian country.
