Cristiano Ronaldo flies to Madrid from Madeira after AFC postponement

Cristiano Ronaldo flew from Madeira’s Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport to Madrid on May 13, a 1-hour 45-minute hop aboard his Bombardier Global Express XRS, LX-GOL. The short trip from his Portuguese home base to the Spanish capital comes after a longer pattern of movement: in recent days, his jet had shuttled between Riyadh, Madrid, and Rome.

The same week Ronaldo lands in Madrid, the Asian Football Confederation has postponed all West Region Champions League matches — including Al-Nassr’s quarterfinal against Al-Wasl — due to escalating violence in the Middle East, per reports from Euronews and Goal.com. The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was struck by Iranian drones, and foreign nationals have been advised to leave. Ronaldo, sidelined with a muscle injury, appears to have heeded that advice, returning to a city where he spent nine years as a Real Madrid player.

This flight fits a pattern: Ronaldo’s jet has made multiple trips between Riyadh and Madrid in recent weeks, with a stop in New York on May 5. The 41-year-old’s Bombardier Global 6500, worth £61 million and customized with his CR7 logo, is often used for family travel. With no match schedule in the immediate future, Madrid offers familiar surroundings — and a safe distance from the Gulf crisis.