Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez 'will live together in Saudi despite strict marriage laws'
Cristiano Ronaldo and his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez will be permitted to live together in Saudi Arabia in spite of the Kingdom's laws which prevent unmarried couples from co-habiting, the Daily Mail reports.
The 37-year-old star striker joined Saudi club Al Nassr on a two-and-a-half-year deal believed to be worth around £175 million per year, and was officially unveiled to supporters in a grand ceremony on Tuesday.
Argentine-born Spanish model Rodriguez, who accompanied Ronaldo at the unveiling, will also move to Riyadh along with Ronaldo's five children, of which two are her own.
The pair have never married, and with Saudi's Islamic laws strictly prohibiting 'cohabitation without a marriage contract' it was unclear how the family would remain together.
But authorities are said to be turning a blind eye, allowing Rodriguez and Ronaldo to live under one roof given the star power that the footballer brings, two Saudi lawyers told Spanish press.
'Although the laws of the kingdom still prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract, the authorities have recently started to turn a blind eye and no longer prosecute anyone.
'Although these laws are used when there is a problem or a crime.'
Another lawyer added: 'Nowadays Saudi authorities no longer interfere in this matter – for expatriates – even though the law prohibits cohabitation without marriage.'
The next problem facing the couple is Rodriguez' visa.
She will not receive a visa automatically through marriage, and Saudi employment laws decree that 'any woman who obtains an entry visa to the kingdom be the wife, worker or first-degree relative of a man residing in the Kingdom', according to one of the lawyers who spoke to EFE.
The lawyers posited that football club Al Nassr could personally sponsor the model's visa, with the alternative of Rodriguez obtaining a one-year tourist visa, though this would expire long before the end of Ronaldo's contract.