They actually did it. After teasing a mysterious collaboration with Cristiano Ronaldo last year, SNK has announced the soccer player will be, not just a skin or promotional spokesperson, but a playable character in the upcoming Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The fighting game launches in April.
Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of history’s greatest – and most controversial, due to multiple rape accusations made against him over the years — soccer players, both at the club level on teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus, and internationally with the Portugal national football team. While odd on paper, his appearance in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves can likely be attributed to his popularity in Saudi Arabia playing for the Al-Nassr football club since 2023, as SNK is currently owned by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s non-profit MiSK Foundation.
Ronaldo has also been known in recent years for a rape allegation that was first made public in 2017 when German website Der Spiegel published a settlement between the soccer player and an accuser who claimed Ronaldo raped her in Las Vegas in 2009. Ronaldo reportedly paid the woman a sum of $375,000 for signing a non-disclosure agreement.
The victim filed a civil lawsuit against Ronaldo in Nevada in 2018, charging the athlete’s team with violating the previous confidentiality agreement by denying the allegations publicly following the Der Spiegel report and requesting $25 million in damages. Her case was dismissed in 2022 due to “bad-faith conduct” by her attorney, and a subsequent appeal was denied the following year.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is the first new entry in the pre-King of Fighters series in almost 25 years. Other playable characters include Andy Bogard, Mai Shiranui, and Joe Higashi as well as crossover appearances from Street Fighter cast members Chun-Li and Ken Masters. It launches on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on April 24.
