Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo made a public gaffe as he said he had moved to South Africa instead of Saudi Arabia, home of his latest club Al Nassr.
The slip of the tongue happened during a press conference in Riyadh attended by thousands of fans who had come to see their idol after he signed a deal with Al Nassr for a whopping 200 million Euros.
“It’s not the end of my career to come to South Africa," Ronaldo said in the blunder which he didn’t seem to realise and moved on to talk about football, the club, the Saudi League and the recently concluded FIFA World Cup.
“I had many offers in Europe, many in Brazil, Australia, the US, even in Portugal," he said adding, “In Europe my work is done.”
Twitter was quick to spot the blunder, shared by Al Nassr on their Twitter account, and pointed it out.
“Did I hear the name of my country South Africa,” one user tweeted.
Another user said it was just a human error.
“Don't slam guys it is just a human error happens with all of us he must have mispronounced it be happy as he said it is not the end for him he will continue,” another user said.
The 37-year-old has signed a contract until 2025 with Al Nassr that has a guaranteed salary of 90 million Euros and with other sponsorship deals the amount goes up to 200 million.
He was also reportedly paid a signing bonus of an estimated 100 million Euros.
“I’m coming here to win, to play, to enjoy, to be part of the success of the country and culture of the country," Ronaldo said adding that he “doesn’t care” what others say or think about him.
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