Ronaldo – and the vast wealth available – also proved to be a gravitational force, pulling other big names to a previously unheralded and mediocre competition.

Neymar, Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and N’Golo Kante are just some of the well-known names who have followed him to the Kingdom.

The star’s first year in Saudi football has seen him score 43 goals in 49 appearances

Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez has also been a hit on the social scene in Saudi Arabia

Ronaldo has lived like a king in Saudi Arabia, earning a staggering £175m-a-year at Al-Nassr

It has been 12 months since Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Nassr (pictured with partner Georgina Rodriguez and his children)

So has Ronaldo’s first year there been successful? The answer is ‘yes’ but with some qualifications.

He’s certainly never been far from the headlines, for good reasons and bad, as Saudi football finds itself under a fiercely-burning spotlight.

Ronaldo is 38 but continues to score goals in prodigious quantities, with 43 in 49 appearances for Al-Nassr since he arrived in Riyadh.

Combined with his international goals for Portugal, he has struck 53 this calendar year and shows no sign of slowing down. He looks certain to make another major tournament – his 11th – at Euro 2024.

But despite this regular stream of goals, Ronaldo has yet to claim much silverware, the main driving aim of his career.

Arriving midway through the 2022-23 Pro League campaign, he was unable to inspire Al-Nassr to the title as they finished five points behind rivals Al-Ittihad.

Ronaldo has work to do this season as well – while he is the league’s top goalscorer, Al-Nassr trail Neymar’s Al-Hilal by seven points after 18 rounds of the campaign.

He did win the Arab Champions Cup back in August, however, with his two goals in the final powering Al-Nassr to a 2-1 win over Al-Hilal.

Al-Nassr couldn’t win the league title this year but they did claim the Arab Club Champions Cup by defeating rivals Al-Hilal in the final

Ronaldo poses with his top scorer trophy in the Arab Club Champions Cup in August

In return, Ronaldo, Rodriguez and his five children have been treated like royalty since they settled in Saudi.

The star dressed in traditional Saudi robes to mark the country’s National Day in September

Ronaldo stays in an exclusive gated community with round-the clock security

Ronaldo was the star attraction at ringside on a night for celebrities, including Eminem and Kanye West, who were also present for Tyson Fury’s fight with Francis Ngannou in Riyadh

You also only have at the crazy scenes in Iran when Al-Nassr played Persepolis in the AFC Champions League to understand Ronaldo’s enduring global popularity.

Presented with a traditional Persian rug as a welcome gift at the airport, the Al-Nassr team bus was literally chased by hundreds of fans eager to catch a glimpse of their idol.

The lobby of the team hotel was then mobbed by thousands more but it’s all a circus Ronaldo has become well accustomed to.

Ironically, the actual match in Tehran was played behind closed doors due to a sanction imposed on Persepolis.

Rodriguez, 29, has also thrown herself into the local social scene. Tatler magazine said the influencer has already amassed a devoted following in Saudi and her appearance at the Joy Awards caused a huge stir, overshadowing ‘Person of the Year’, the actress Sofia Vergara.

If there are any reservations about Saudi ‘sportwashing’ to cover up human rights abuses in the country, it doesn’t seem to have affected Ronaldo’s lucrative sponsorship deals.

Georgina Rodríguez looked elegant in a midnight blue velvet gown with arm-length gloves as she attended the Joy Awards in Saudi Arabia

A quick trawl through recent Instagram posts throws up endorsements for Nike, fitness tool Sixpad, the tourist board for his home island of Madeira, his CR7 fragrances, watchmaker Jacob & Co, and cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

The latest Forbes highest-paid athletes list put his 2022-23 off-field earnings at $90m [just over £70m].

Obviously not everything has been plain-sailing since Ronaldo’s move.

There was a fuss over Ronaldo and Rodriguez breaking Saudi law by living together while unmarried, with the Spanish newspaper SPORT engaging local lawyers to explain that the authorities were ‘turning a blind eye’.