The rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East has forced soccer prodigy, Cristiano Ronaldo, to flee Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo was said to have taken off with his private jet departing Riyadh for Madrid on Monday evening.
Information from flight records showed that the soccer star’s £61 million Bombardier Global Express 6500 took off from Riyadh at about 8pm and arrived in Madrid around 1am.
Ronaldo, who currently stars for Al-Nassr and has lived in Riyadh since joining the club from Manchester United in December 2022, is among the thousands of residents and expatriates who are leaving parts of the region following the ongoing heavy hostilities between Iran and the United States with Israel which started on Saturday.
Tension escalated on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence revealed that two drones hit the United States embassy in Riyadh, causing what officials described as a limited fire and minor material damage.
This has forced Saudi Arabian to suspend football activities as well as continental fixtures involving clubs from the region.
Similarly, the Asian Football Confederation has also suspended several matches.
The war has suddenly turned Riyadh into a key exit route for rich people and senior executives fleeing the Middle East in the face of the ongoing conflicts.
Semafor revealed that private security firms have been booking fleets of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to transport clients to Riyadh from Dubai and then charter private planes to fly them out of the region that has become a war zone..
The report said those evacuated include senior executives at global financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals in the region for business or leisure.
Chief Executive of Private Jet Brokerage, Vimana Private, Ameerh Naran, said private jets from Riyadh to Europe now cost as much as $350,000 (N479,113,600).
“Saudi Arabia is the only real option for people who want to get out of the region right now. Private jets from Riyadh to Europe now cost up to $350,000,” he said.
Fly Elite Jet said private jet flights from Riyadh to Europe in January generally range from $50,000 to over $150,000 for a one-way trip, depending on aircraft size, according to.
The surge in flight fare followed reprisal attacks by Iran on the United States (US) military bases in the Middle East on Saturday morning, with multiple explosions reported in Abu Dhabi, Manama, Doha, and Kuwait, as well as in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
