Neymar and Karim Benzema on Saturday wore traditional Saudi clothing to mark the kingdom's 93rd National Day. Benzema took to Instagram to post a picture showing him wearing a white thobe – the ankle-length, long-sleeved garment worn by many Arab men in the Gulf – and a bisht, a cloak worn over the thobe. He also wore a traditional Saudi shemag, a red-and-white head covering. Neymar also posted pictures on Instagram showing him dressed in traditional Saudi garb alongside Al Hilal teammate Malcolm Philipe Oliveira and coach Jorge Jesus. Other Al Hilal players including Ruben Neves were seen performing a traditional dance in thobes in a video on Instagram. Social media users in Saudi Arabia took to Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their happiness over the players' actions. “It really is unbelievable. These world superstars- Benzema, Ronaldo, Neymar and all are here representing the changing kingdom in such an incredible way,” said Bador Ahwaz, a 40-year-old football fan living in Jeddah. “I am loving this so much!” said Yousef Hossein, a 29-year-old Saudi gamer in Jeddah. “Ronaldo's clip was legendary. All the players posting in Saudi traditional clothing show they respect our culture and values. We love them and hope to achieve more success together.” Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday celebrated Saudi National Day in Saudi attire and was seen performing the traditional sword dance with Al Nassr teammates in a video released by the club. In the video, Ronaldo is joined by Saudi players Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Nawaf Alaqidi and Waleed Abdullah as well as Portuguese midfielder Otavio and Senegalese forward Sadio Mane. Lionel Messi was seen wearing a bisht following the Fifa World Cup championship in Qatar last year.
