Israel is planning to recruit Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo in order to accelerate the process of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, media reported.
The Israeli broadcasting Corporation Kan, stated in a report, that the Israeli Foreign Ministry is studying the recruitment of Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved about a month ago to the Saudi League, to help promote the talk of normalization between Israel and the Kingdom.
The channel’s political correspondent, Gili Cohen,explained that the issue is still under preliminary discussions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and revolves around the use of Ronaldo, who is one of the greatest soccer players in the world, to achieve the Israeli goal sought by Netanyahu and his Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.
Saudi Arabia does not establish diplomatic relations with Israel, but it strives to include the Kingdom in the “Abraham Accords” that it signed in late 2021 with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and the West.
However, Saudi Arabia has announced on many occasions that it will not normalize relations with Israel as long as the Palestinian issue remains unresolved.
On Friday, December 30, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on a 2.5-year contract, after leaving Manchester United to become a free agent.
Ronaldo has reportedly signed a deal worth more than 200 million euros with Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo was unveiled to a crowd at Al-Nassr Stadium on Tuesday, January 3, after officially joining the Saudi club.
