<p>Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo faces a wait to make his Al-Nassr debut because the Saudi club have exceeded their quota for foreign players, club sources told AFP on Thursday.</p>.<p>When he was unveiled with great fanfare on Tuesday, the 37-year-old said he was keen to play as soon as possible, starting with Thursday's home game against Al Ta'ee.</p>.<p>But Ronaldo, whose deal is worth an estimated 200 million euros to June 2025, is Al-Nassr's ninth foreign player -- one more than the eight allowed by Saudi football authorities.</p>.<p>"Al-Nassr has not registered him yet because there is no vacancy for a foreign player," one club official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media, told AFP.</p>.<p>"A foreign player must leave to register Ronaldo, either by selling or by terminating the contract by mutual consent."</p>.<p>Al-Nassr's foreign contingent includes Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo and forwards Anderson Talisca of Brazil and Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon.</p>.<p>Saudi reports said Uzbek midfielder Jaloliddin Masharipov was most likely to make way for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and Champions League record scorer.</p>.<p>A second club source confirmed that Ronaldo was not registered as of Thursday afternoon local time.</p>.<p>"There are ongoing negotiations to sell one of the players, but they have not reached their final stages yet," he said.</p>.<p>Both officials refused to confirm whether Ronaldo still needed to serve a two-match English Football Association ban from November for hitting a mobile phone out of a teenage fan's hand after Manchester United, his club at the time, lost to Everton.</p>.<p>The Saudi Football Association referred questions about the match ban to Al-Nassr.</p>.<p>Al-Nassr's 25,000-capacity stadium, Mrsool Park, is sold out for Thursday's game, as it was on Tuesday when Ronaldo was welcomed with fireworks and deafening cheers.</p>.<p>The Portuguese forward said then that he was looking for a new challenge by coming to Saudi Arabia, adding that he had received offers from around the world.</p>.<p>"I'm a unique player. It's good to come here, I broke all the records there (in Europe) and I want to break a few records here," Ronaldo said.</p>.<p>Amnesty International urged him to speak out about human rights issues in the deeply conservative monarchy, calling his move part of a "wider pattern of sportswashing", or using sport to deflect criticism.</p>
<p>Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo faces a wait to make his Al-Nassr debut because the Saudi club have exceeded their quota for foreign players, club sources told AFP on Thursday.</p>.<p>When he was unveiled with great fanfare on Tuesday, the 37-year-old said he was keen to play as soon as possible, starting with Thursday's home game against Al Ta'ee.</p>.<p>But Ronaldo, whose deal is worth an estimated 200 million euros to June 2025, is Al-Nassr's ninth foreign player -- one more than the eight allowed by Saudi football authorities.</p>.<p>"Al-Nassr has not registered him yet because there is no vacancy for a foreign player," one club official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media, told AFP.</p>.<p>"A foreign player must leave to register Ronaldo, either by selling or by terminating the contract by mutual consent."</p>.<p>Al-Nassr's foreign contingent includes Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo and forwards Anderson Talisca of Brazil and Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon.</p>.<p>Saudi reports said Uzbek midfielder Jaloliddin Masharipov was most likely to make way for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and Champions League record scorer.</p>.<p>A second club source confirmed that Ronaldo was not registered as of Thursday afternoon local time.</p>.<p>"There are ongoing negotiations to sell one of the players, but they have not reached their final stages yet," he said.</p>.<p>Both officials refused to confirm whether Ronaldo still needed to serve a two-match English Football Association ban from November for hitting a mobile phone out of a teenage fan's hand after Manchester United, his club at the time, lost to Everton.</p>.<p>The Saudi Football Association referred questions about the match ban to Al-Nassr.</p>.<p>Al-Nassr's 25,000-capacity stadium, Mrsool Park, is sold out for Thursday's game, as it was on Tuesday when Ronaldo was welcomed with fireworks and deafening cheers.</p>.<p>The Portuguese forward said then that he was looking for a new challenge by coming to Saudi Arabia, adding that he had received offers from around the world.</p>.<p>"I'm a unique player. It's good to come here, I broke all the records there (in Europe) and I want to break a few records here," Ronaldo said.</p>.<p>Amnesty International urged him to speak out about human rights issues in the deeply conservative monarchy, calling his move part of a "wider pattern of sportswashing", or using sport to deflect criticism.</p>