The Spaniard had been playing for Al Nassr for several months when the Portuguese legend joined the Saudia Arabian side in 2022 and the defender was delighted to quickly strike up a friendship with his new teammate.

He recalled to FourFourTwo magazine: “Footballers really are just very normal people and that’s what I found with him.

“Everyone imagines how he might be but I had the chance to live and work alongside Cristiano, and it was a very pleasant surprise.

“We shared a language and in just a few weeks, a closeness developed to the point where you thought, ‘How wonderful that someone like Cristiano, who’s achieved everything there is in football, comes with such enthusiasm to compete here.’

“We’d joke around and plan activities outside football – sometimes we would stay for dinner at the training ground, because of what it was like for him to go out, the complications of being in public.

“Training was in the afternoon, so we’d stay until 11pm or midnight, eating calmly and healthily.

“Hearing him talk about his life, his business ventures and his perspective on football was special, it’s a precious experience I’ll carry with me forever.

“I’m not at Al Nassr any more, but if I ever send him a message, he still responds.”

Cristiano made a good impression on the Al Nassr side from the moment he met his new teammates.

Alvaro recalled: “We were all in the dressing room waiting to meet him, some more nervous than others.

“When the moment came though, he was very approachable.

“He greeted us individually – he said, ‘Alvaro, how are you?’, because we had faced each other many times playing in La Liga.

“That he took the time to call me by my name and ask a question, when the very next day we’d be training together, made everything much easier.”