Looking east from the steep vantage point of the King Saud University Stadium, the skyline is dominated by the central Riyadh scrapers, each of which has outgrown the others over the years to claim the city's tallest.

Today, a new monster has arrived in town, and it dwarfs them all.

You don't even have to look out the window of top-flight club Al Nassr to find it.
Cristiano Ronaldo is right there, with a global reputation, ego, and, tellingly, a newly-inflated bank balance large enough to put any gleaming structure to shame.


The neon-lit Kingdom Centre, which dominates the horizon, was once billed as the city's highest elevated tower.
This is now Ronaldo's domain.

It was his name in lights, 'Hala Ronaldo' lettering visible through the ticker-tape, fireworks, and sparklers that welcomed him as an Al Nassr player this month.
He is not here to achieve any footballing feats, but he will find plenty of admiration from a youthful, Western-facing, football-obsessed audience.