“He surprised me” - Roger Guedes reveals what Cristiano Ronaldo asked about him unique Qatar stadium experience not available in Saudi Arabia

Al-Rayyan forward Roger Guedes has opened up on his interaction with Cristiano Ronaldo. He said that the Portuguese was very humble and also spoke to him about playing in Qatar as compared to Saudi Arabia.

Roger Guedes joined Al-Rayyan from Corinthians in 2023. He faced Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in the group stages of the AFC Champions League in the 2024-25 season. The Knights of Njad won 2-1 at Al-Awwal Park in Saudi Arabia, where both of them scored for their respective sides.

In a recent interview with O Jogo, he spoke about his interaction with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and said:

"I have this desire to go to Europe, to play in the Champions League, for sure. And I also had a dream, and thank God I was able to make it come true, of playing against Cristiano Ronaldo too. It was in the Asian Champions League, I made that dream come true.

"Did I speak to him? I did, and he surprised me. On the pitch, during a stoppage, he came up to me to talk, to ask what it was like in Qatar. He said he played in the World Cup there, but that Saudi Arabia didn't have air conditioning in the stadiums. In Qatar, we do, so it makes things much easier, it's even a little cold."

Ronaldo featured for Portugal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Morocco.

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Roger Guedes on exchanging shirts with 'humble' Cristiano Ronaldo

In the aforementioned interview, Roger Guedes spoke about how Cristiano Ronaldo is trying to change the football culture in Saudi Arabia. He also shared that the legendary forward is really "humble" and that he exchanged shirts with him.

Guedes said:

“He said that he's changing the culture in Saudi Arabia a lot, that he's helping with that, with development.

"I took the opportunity to ask for his shirt, I went there with that intention... We took a picture, we talked, the guy is amazing. I was even afraid that maybe he'd say no, because a lot of people ask for it, right? But the 'guy' is humble, as his close friends always said, they always praised him. And today I have his shirt saved, and he also took mine, it was a surprise."

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United a month before. His transfer to the Saudi Pro League has seen numerous big stars make their move to the league since then, like Neymar Jr., Karim Benzema, Aymeric Laporte, and more.