Saudi may turn 'blind eye' to Ronaldo living with girlfriend despite cohabiting laws

Global football sensation Cristiano Ronaldo and his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez may be exempt from Saudi laws that prohibit unmarried couples from living together, according to reports.

Authorities in the conservative kingdom could turn a "blind eye" to the pair cohabiting in breach of its codes, lawyers from the kingdom told Spanish news agency EFE, according to Argentina-based TyC Sports.

Both cohabiting and engaging in sex before marriage is illegal in Saudi Arabia, where individuals who fall pregnant prior to tying the knot could face imprisonment or deportation, according to British foreign travel advice.

Ronaldo has five children, two of whom are also Rodriguez's biological children. 

"Although the laws of the kingdom still prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract, the authorities have recently started to turn a blind eye," one lawyer reportedly told EFE.

"[Authorities] nowadays no longer interfere in this matter – for expatriates – even though the law prohibits cohabitation without marriage," another added. 

The lawyers - who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic – also discussed the visas that could have been granted to Rodriguez.

"Diplomatic missions cannot grant a visa to a woman without a marriage contract, but for example, a blind eye is turned. Women enter with a tourist visa, since a man and a woman can obtain it separately without having to to reveal the nature of their relationship," one of the lawyers said. 

Ronaldo last month signed a contract to join Saudi team Al-Nassr until 2025, in a deal believed to be worth more than 200 million euros ($214 million).