Ronaldo's arrival at Al Nassr is similar to that of Pelé at Cosmos, according to Garcia

Cristiano Ronaldo joining Al Nassr will have a similar impact to Pele's move to the New York Cosmos nearly 50 years ago, according to the Saudi club's head coach Rudi Garcia.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, considered one of the most lucrative in football history, after leaving Manchester United.

The Portugal international is yet to make his debut due to a postponed domestic suspension from his time at United, but his impact is already being felt off the pitch.

And in Garcia's opinion, the transfer is comparable to the transfer of the late Pelé to American club Cosmos in 1975 after a legendary spell with Santos.

"It's a bit like the arrival of Pelé, especially for the development of football, sport and culture in Saudi Arabia," said Garcia quoted by L'Equipe.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is more than a player. He is one of the best players in the world.

"It's amazing how much this highlights our club. Now everyone knows where our club is in the world.

"We had to go from 800,000 [Twitter subscribers] to 10 million in a few hours, even a few days, because of Cristiano's arrival."

Ronaldo missed Friday's 2-0 win over Al Tai and will also miss Saturday's trip to Al Shabab due to a ban imposed for dropping a phone from an Everton fan's hand last April.

He is eligible to make his Al Nassr debut against Al Ettifaq on January 22, but Garcia has confirmed that Ronaldo could feature for the first time in a high-profile friendly against Paris Saint-Germain.

It could mean a clash between Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as PSG take on a Saudi XI of Al Nassr and Al Hilal players, but Garcia isn't entirely happy.

"His debut will not be with the Al Nassr shirt. It will be a mix between Al Hilal and Al Nassr," Garcia said.

"As the coach of Al Nassr, I cannot be satisfied with this match. For development, seeing PSG, seeing the great Parisian players, indeed it is a good thing.

"But we have a league game three days later. In terms of timing, it could have been better thought out. But that's okay.

"We are in the lead, we are happy. It is a difficult championship to win, but we have every intention of doing it."

Ronaldo struggled to gain playing time before leaving United, then lost his place in Portugal's starting line-up during their disappointing World Cup campaign.

Asked what he hopes to see from the 37-year-old when he makes his late debut, Garcia replied: "If he finds the joy of playing again, that will already be a goal achieved."