Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo will not be allowed to play for his Saudi Arabian team tomorrow night, as he has been banned.

All 28,000 seats for the match against Al Ta’ee had been sold, and his new club Al Nassr, which is supposedly paying him £175 million a year, was expected to welcome him to the Arabian field with great fanfare.

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However, the self-described “unique” player, who abruptly departed Manchester United, is still awaiting punishment for a misdemeanour and has been informed he cannot play for Al Nassr, a source said.

After United lost a game at Goodison Park in April of last year, Ronaldo was found guilty of improper and violent conduct for smashing an Everton fan’s phone out of his hand.

As he went down the tunnel, he slapped Jacob Harding’s hand, breaking the boy’s phone. Harding’s mother, Sarah Kelly, said that Ronaldo also injured her son’s hand.

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Last month, when the investigation was still ongoing, it was believed that Ronaldo would accept the FA’s charge of improper conduct but was adamant about fighting the possibility of a ban.

Following their return from Qatar, United played Fulham on November 13 and Burnley in the EFL Cup on December 21. The source claimed that Ronaldo missed two first team competitive games because his contract with United had been terminated.

The suspension follows him to his subsequent club and prevents Al Nassr from showcasing its new star striker before it has participated in two competitive games for which he Ronaldo have been available.

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Article 12.1 of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players says: ‘Any disciplinary sanction of up to four matches or up to three months that has been imposed on a player by the former association but not yet (entirely) served by the time of the transfer shall be enforced by the new association at which the player has been registered in order for the sanction to be served at domestic level.’

The FA had taken note of this fact when they issued the ban and provided formal justification for it in November. They had said: ‘We note the Player has participated in a recently published interview in which he has criticised MUFC. We know not what effect that may nor will have on his future with that club nor whether it will take disciplinary action in respect thereof. The suspension we have imposed must have effect.’

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Numerous supporters of Ronaldo’s new team who purchased tickets and stood in line to purchase shirts bearing his name and the number “7” will be inconsolable over the suspension.

Over the past 24 hours, the club store sold more than 5,000 Ronaldo shirts for an average price of £50 each, the manager told Mailonline.

Ronaldo’s picture is plastered all over Riyadh’s billboards, and he rides around in a fleet of vehicles with their windows blacked off and a 24-hour security detail.

Ronaldo flew into Saudi Arabia on Monday night and was honoured in front of 28,000 spectators last night at the club stadium. Proceeds from ticket sales went to charity.