Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the Saudi Pro League’s Player of the Month for the first time following a superb February for Al Nassr.
The Portuguese international, who signed for the Riyadh club in late December, scored eight times and registered two assists across four matches.
Ronaldo, 38, notched his first goal on February 3 in his third appearance for Nassr, converting a late penalty away to Al Fateh to seal a 2-2 draw. He then scored all four goals in the 4-0 victory at Al Wehda on February 9 before setting up two goals in the 2-1 win at home to Al Taawoun on February 17.
The former Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid forward was back on the scoresheet last Saturday, when he struck a hat-trick in the 3-0 triumph at Damac.
Ronaldo’s contribution has helped Nassr, most recently domestic champions in 2019, stay top of the Saudi league, two points ahead of second-placed Al Ittihad, whom they play on March 9.
“I feel more in harmony with the team now,” Ronaldo said in a televised interview after the Damac match. “It is not easy to adapt in the first five, six or seven matches. Everyone knows my movements now and I am beginning to understand the movements of the rest of the players.”
He added: “Step by step we can reach higher levels.”
Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Nassr believed to be worth more than $200 million per season.
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Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
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From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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