Cristiano Ronaldo and his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez will be allowed to live together in Saudi Arabia, despite the Kingdom's laws preventing unmarried couples from cohabiting.
The 37-year-old forward joined Saudi club Al Nassr on a two-and-a-half-year deal and was officially presented to supporters at a grand ceremony.
Argentine-born Spanish model Rodriguez, who accompanied Ronaldo to the launch, will also move to Riyadh along with Ronaldo's five children, two of whom are her own.
The pair have never married and with Saudi Arabia's Islamic laws strictly prohibiting 'cohabitation without a marriage contract' it was unclear how the family would stay together, writes Dailymail.
But the authorities are said to be turning a blind eye, allowing Rodriguez and Ronaldo to live under one roof, given the power and influence the footballer wields, two Saudi lawyers told the Spanish press.
"Although the kingdom's laws still prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract, the authorities have recently begun to turn a blind eye and stop prosecuting anyone. Although these laws are used when there is a problem or a crime", declared a lawyer.
"Saudi authorities nowadays no longer intervene in this matter for expatriates - even though the law prohibits cohabitation without marriage," said another lawyer.
The other problem the couple faces is Rodriguez's visa. She will not automatically receive a visa through marriage, and Saudi labor laws decree that "any woman who receives an entry visa to the kingdom must be the wife, employee or first-degree relative of a man residing in the Kingdom," according to one of the lawyers who spoke to EFE.
The lawyers claimed that Al Nassr football club could personally sponsor the model's visa, with the alternative being that Rodriguez would get a one-year tourist visa, although this would expire well before Ronaldo's contract ends.
Ronaldo and Rodriguez, who have been together since 2016, are parents to nine-month-old daughter Bella, five-year-old Alana Martina and are also raising Cristiano's twins Eva and Mateo, nearly five, born to a surrogate mother, and son 12 -year-old footballer, Cristiano Jr.
The celebrity couple have settled into some of the best accommodation Riyadh has to offer in one of the 17 rooms occupied by his entourage, including family, friends and security.
The footballer has been booked to stay in the Kingdom Suite, one of the best in the 99-storey building, for a month.
It is estimated that the hotel bill for Ronaldo and his entourage will exceed £250,000 when the forward leaves the suite and heads to his new Saudi home with Rodriguez.
When Ronaldo and his family finally move out of the hotel, they will likely live in one of the city's prestigious neighborhoods, such as Al Muhammadiyah, which is known for its high-end restaurants, or Al Nakheel, which is popular in the family because of its international schools.
He has plenty of time to find a suitable residence after being banned from competitive football until serving a two-match ban for punching an Everton fan's mobile phone last April. /Telegrafi/
