Why Cristiano Ronaldo's engagement raised eyebrows in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: It was hardly a surprise that the engagement announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo, the global soccer superstar, was accompanied by a photograph of a diamond the size of a jumbo olive.

The location tagged in the Instagram post, however -- published by his partner of nine years, model and influencer Georgina Rodríguez -- raised eyebrows. The photo of her bedazzled hand was not shared from Paris, Bora Bora or Dubai, but from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The capital of the conservative Islamic kingdom is not generally known as a place where globe-trotting couples flock to celebrate their romances. A decade ago, the religious police roamed the city streets hunting for unmarried couples and shouting at women to cover their hair. Sex outside of marriage was, until recently, punishable by flogging.

Even as fans celebrated the new engagement, the announcement highlighted the fact that the couple were not married and had been living with their children in the Saudi city for two years.

Riyadh is where one chapter of Ronaldo's unmarried bliss has played out, after he moved here in 2022 under a hefty contract to play for the Saudi soccer team Al Nassr. He was joined in the city by Rodríguez and their children.

Their family appeared to have settled into a comfortable and glamorous life in the kingdom, testing the boundaries of rapid social change in Saudi Arabia.

Since he began his rise to power in 2015, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, has overseen a flurry of policy shifts that have rendered the once-ultraconservative country nearly unrecognizable -- loosening social restrictions while increasing political repression.

Years ago, simply riding in a car with an unrelated male driver could prompt questions for women at police checkpoints -- a paradoxical conundrum in the kingdom: Women were not allowed to drive until 2018.

Today, it is not entirely clear what is allowed: Dating? Cohabitation? Unmarried pregnancy? There is no written penal code, and various judges interpret Islamic law -- the kingdom's prevailing legal doctrine -- differently. That strategic opacity gives the Saudi government wiggle room to maneuver as societal changes unfold -- occasionally spurring public backlash and seemingly random arrests.

Women sometimes take to the streets in shorts and crop tops now, despite public taste regulations that theoretically ban such attire. Alcohol is illegal, but a black market thrives, and, occasionally, visibly inebriated young men can be spotted brawling outside one of the city's "dry" nightclubs.

The Saudi government's Center for International Communication did not respond to a request for comment on whether sex and cohabitation out of wedlock were permissible now, or whether a special exception was granted to Ronaldo, who is 40 and a native of Portugal.

Publicists for Rodríguez and Ronaldo did not respond to questions about their engagement, including whether Saudi Arabia's social norms played any role in their decision to tie the knot.

Ronaldo's relocation was a major coup for the Saudi government's efforts to expand its sports sector and reshape the kingdom's image -- bringing one of the world's most famous athletes into its fold. The most-followed person on Instagram, he has shared images of life and soccer in Saudi Arabia, showing a different side of the country.

Rodríguez, 31, a model and social media influencer who has a Netflix show, has played a key role in that display, attending red carpet events, sunbathing in a bikini outside their sleek villa and visiting five-star resorts with their children.

Less privileged women who cannot produce a marriage certificate are generally unable to gain access to medical care, schooling or legal residency for their children, and are unable to register their babies' births.

Fueling rumors and speculation, Ronaldo has referred to Rodríguez several times as his wife. But on her Netflix show, he has reassured fans that they would get married -- one day.

"I always tell her: 'When we get that click,'" he said.

It was not clear when, or where, the engagement happened. Rodríguez's Instagram post on Monday was captioned only: "Yes, I do. In this and all of my lives."

In the comments beneath, her Arab followers traded jokes, with one person commenting that it was "a really fast engagement!"

Arabic memes marking the occasion with humor spread swiftly across the internet, with one common riff saying that he had to work in Saudi Arabia for two years to afford marriage.

"It was just the period of 'getting to know each other,'" another meme read, accompanied by a photo of the couple with their children -- referring sarcastically to the brief, family-sanctioned dating phase that some Saudi and Arab couples pass through before officially getting married.

In June, Ronaldo extended his contract in Saudi Arabia for two more years.

"My family always supports me in my decisions," he said in a video published by the club. "The Saudi people treat us very, very good. That's why we want to live there and continue to do our life there."