Cristiano Ronaldo, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou pose in same photo with secret 'project' for Al Nassr star teased

06/03/2024 00:13

Cristiano Ronaldo was all smiles as he joined British heavyweight rivals Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua for an historic photo in Saudi Arabia.

The Al Nassr superstar is set to headline a list of celebrity guests for AJ’s clash with Francis Ngannou in Riyadh’s 'Knockout Chaos' on Friday.

Ronaldo – already the poster boy for the Saudi Pro League – has been a regular attendee at the Kingdom’s combat events since his arrival.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was ringside for Joshua’s last fight in December, while he also watched Fury’s win over Ngannou.

All four of the sporting superstars have now joined forces for a photo with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Entertainment.

Alalshikh has been instrumental in Saudi Arabia’s staging of recent heavyweight clashes, including both Joshua vs Ngannou, as well as undisputed heavyweight world title clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

After sharing a picture of the quintet on X, formerly known as Twitter, His Excellency also revealed Ronaldo has a secret upcoming project.

He wrote: “With my dear friends, the best athletes in the world in their sports, and big surprises soon… And a project with the legend Cristiano Ronaldo in Riyadh will be announced in the coming months…

“And waiting for the fight on Friday between Joshua and Ngannou… and looking forward to the fight of the century between the undisputed champions Tyson vs Usyk.”

Ronaldo’s presence comes just a day after his return from a two-match ban for an indecent gesture.

He refused to react to more Lionel Messi chants from fans but failed to help Al Nassr avoid a 1-0 defeat to Al Ain in the Asian Champions League.

Fury meanwhile only touched down in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with his brother Roman competing on the undercard.

The Gypsy King will also be on a potential scouting mission, with the winner of AJ vs Ngannou facing him next should he beat Usyk.

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn told the MMA Hour: "His Excellency said the winner of this fight faces the winner of Fury-Usyk.

“That is a dream chance for us because we chased that for so long.

“AJ is going to beat Francis Ngannou, and then he's going to beat the winner of Fury-Usyk, and he's going to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion.”