Other surnames do not even choose!
Al Nassr's official fan shop is located in northern Riyadh, about a 10-15 minute drive from the stadium. Next to it is a massive supermarket with household goods like lamps, rugs, and dishes on one side and a store with carpets and mattresses on the other. The neighborhood is unusual and non-football, but a large emblem clearly distinguishes the fan shop on the very roof of the building.
Four dummies are in the window, dressed in all four kits, with the name Ronaldo on the back.
But only some things are available: there have been no home T-shirts for a long time - only shorts remained, even those of the largest sizes. There is a guest uniform, but more is needed, and also in a truncated size grid - 2XL and 3XL.
"I don't even know when a new batch will be brought," says the consultant. "But it's difficult to catch them: the flow of people is such that everything is quickly sold out." He says several hundred people visit the store daily, so sales are always good.
Despite the absence of the most popular T-shirt, the assortment is still significant: there are all sizes of the third and fourth sets (gold and purple) and training uniforms.
A separate Victory collection is displayed in the back part of the store, made in the likeness of a stadium, with the letter V on the right. A regular T-shirt, for example, costs about $26, and an olympic shirt costs about $65.
It also presents bags, wall clocks, mugs, and phone cases of different models.
A thermos, for example, costs almost $40, a mug costs $17, and a phone case costs about $12.
There is a children's collection (even backpacks and small suitcases on wheels), a separate line of women's T-shirts, and lifestyle clothing. There are also markers and pencils for children, which are the cheapest in this store - about $5.
But, despite the breadth of the assortment, people come to the store for one thing - for a Ronaldo T-shirt. They sell 300 pieces a day - which is a very approximate figure, because the names are applied non-stop. No other words are in the box where the thermal stickers are collected because only one has been in demand in the last month.
The consultants are already so masterfully guiding the process that it takes no more than three to five minutes. Someone puts on a T-shirt right away in the store - three kids, for example, after the purchase, went to shoot either tik-toks or a personal video message to Ronaldo, jumping several times before that in his signature style with a rather funny and lingering SIUUU.
"Ronaldo, we moved to Riyadh from Jeddah to support Al Nassr," they said in unison into the camera phone held by their mother. - We love you very much and are glad you play for us! We hope you score a lot of goals."
They were later replaced by other boys who also grimaced at the camera and said something in Arabic, pronouncing Ronaldo. For Saudis, especially for children, Krish is now like Maradona in Naples: the most critical person in Riyadh. They go crazy for him - both in the stadium and outside it.
25.02.2023