Hot: Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez ‘will be excused from Saudi Arabia’s laws which forbid unmarried couples to live together’ following his £175m-a-year move to Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo and his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez will be permitted to live together in Saudi Arabia in spite of the Kingdom’s laws which prevent unmarried couples from co-habiting.

The 37-year-old star striker joined Saudi club Al Nassr on a two-and-a-half-year deal believed to be worth around £175 million per year, and was officially unveiled to supporters in a grand ceremony on Tuesday.

Argentine-born Spanish model Rodriguez, who accompanied Ronaldo at the unveiling, will also move to Riyadh along with Ronaldo’s five children, of which two are her own.

The pair have never married, and with Saudi’s Islamic laws strictly prohibiting ‘cohabitation without a marriage contract’ it was unclear how the family would remain together.

But authorities are said to be turning a blind eye, allowing Rodriguez and Ronaldo to live under one roof given the star power that the footballer brings, two Saudi lawyers told Spanish press.

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Cristiano Ronaldo accompanied by his partner Georgina Rodriguez and his son Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, greet the crowd during the official unveiling of Cristiano Ronaldo as an Al Nassr player at Mrsool Park Stadium on January 3, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Rodriguez looks on as Ronaldo waves to a stadium full of cheering fans at his unveiling in Riyadh

A handout picture released by Saudi Arabia’s al-Nassr football club shows Al-Nassr’s new Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (C) alongside his partner Georgina Rodriguez (C-R) and their children greeting the crowd during his unveiling at the Mrsool Park Stadium in the Saudi capital Riyadh on January 3, 2023

A shared love of Gucci brought them together one fateful day in the Spanish capital: It was ‘love at first sight’ as the pair met in 2016 in the lavish Madrid Gucci store where Georgina worked and Ronaldo was browsing the shelves 

‘Although the laws of the kingdom still prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract, the authorities have recently started to turn a blind eye and no longer prosecute anyone.

‘Although these laws are used when there is a problem or a crime.’

Another lawyer added: ‘Nowadays Saudi authorities no longer interfere in this matter – for expatriates – even though the law prohibits cohabitation without marriage.’

The next problem facing the couple is Rodriguez’ visa.

She will not receive a visa automatically through marriage, and Saudi employment laws decree that ‘any woman who obtains an entry visa to the kingdom be the wife, worker or first-degree relative of a man residing in the Kingdom’, according to one of the lawyers who spoke to EFE.

The lawyers posited that football club Al Nassr could personally sponsor the model’s visa, with the alternative of Rodriguez obtaining a one-year tourist visa, though this would expire long before the end of Ronaldo’s contract.

MailOnline has approached Ronaldo’s representatives for comment.

Ronaldo and Rodriguez, who have been together since 2016, are parents to a nine-month-old daughter Bella, five-year-old Alana Martina and are also raising Cristiano’s near-five-year-old twins Eva and Mateo born to a surrogate mother and the football pro’s 12-year-old son Cristiano Jr.

Although their permanent living arrangements have not yet been finalised, Ronaldo wasted little time assuring the pair were royally received, securing a luxury suite in the Kingdom Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the country at 99 floors.

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Cristiano Ronaldo and his family are staying at the Four Seasons hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Riyadh Four Seasons Hotel in Saudi Arabia

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Ronaldo was filmed by MailOnline leaving the Four Seasons hotel on Sunday night (pictured)

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Chefs are providing an exclusive in-room dining service for Ronaldo and his family at the hotel

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Ronaldo and Rodriguez will stay at the Four Seasons hotel until he finds long-term accommodation in Saudi Arabia

Ronaldo and Rodriguez have been put up in one of the best lodgings that Riyadh can offer in one of 17 rooms occupied by his entourage, including his family, friends and security detail.

The footballer is booked to stay in the Kingdom Suite, one of the best in the 99-story building, for one month.

The cost of the hotel suite is not even listed on the hotel’s website and has to be booked privately, as does the adjacent ‘Royal Suite’. But the smaller ‘Presidential Suite’ can be booked online and the cost for a night is a staggering £3300 a night.

It is estimated that the hotel bill for Ronaldo and his entourage will surpass £250,000 when the striker leaves the suite and heads to his new Saudi home with Rodriguez

Until then they can enjoy the most spectacular views of the city and tuck into the finest food at their five-star temporary home, with a team of chefs providing an exclusive in-room dining service.

The hotel says of its Kingdom Suite: ‘Entertain guests with unparalleled views of Riyadh. Our newest two-storey suite spans the 48th and 50th floors of the Hotel, with a soaring living room, a private office, a dining room and a media room.’

Its ‘Royal Suite’ offers less space, but at 2,595ft it would still be bigger than most apartments in Britain, where Ronaldo twice lived during his stints with Manchester United.

The hotel says the suite offers panoramic views of Riyadh ‘and its surroundings lend a unique sense of exclusivity to this versatile suite, which features an elegant dining room, pantry, living room and executive study.’

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12-year-old Cristiano Jr. (pictured left) hugs his baby sister Eva while Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez cradles Mateo on her lap, Cristiano (pictured right) holds his two daughters baby Bella and Alana Martina

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 The 37-year-old star is staying in the hotel’s lavish ‘Kingdom Suite’ – which stretches two floors

When Ronaldo and his family do eventually leave the hotel, they are likely to live in one of the city’s prestigious neighbourhoods, such as Al Muhammadiyah, which is known for its top-end restaurants, or Al Nakheel, which is popular with families due to its international schools.

Both areas are close to Al Nassr’s 28,000-seat stadium at Mrsool Park, formerly known as the King Saud University Stadium, and boast a large number of high-end gated compounds, built for Western residents.

Many feature their own swimming pools, pre-schools, shops, clinics, gyms and restaurants, meaning residents hardly ever have to leave.

Property rental websites in Saudi Arabia do not list any high-end rental compound properties as they tend to be let out through private agreements with employers of expats.

But properties currently for sale in Riyadh include an eight-bedroom palace priced at 55 million Saudi Riyal (£12.2 million) which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a reception foyer with waterfall-features and three additional villas in its grounds.

The palace which could sit alongside Ronaldo’s reported portfolio of eight other properties around the world is in the Al Macqa neighbourhood just three miles from Mrsool Park, and includes accommodation for maids and chauffeurs.

He has plenty of time to locate a suitable mansion as he is banned from playing competitive football until he has served a two-match suspension for hitting a mobile phone out of the hand of an Everton-supporting schoolboy last April.

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