It’s might actually be happening. Cristiano Ronaldo could be heading to Saudi Arabia, signing a record $207 million a year contract with Al Nassr football club, according to a report from Spanish newspaper Marca.
Ronaldo, who is currently powering Portugal through the World Cup in Qatar as the squad reaches the knockout stages, left Manchester United in November after a scorched-earth hour-and-a-half long interview with Piers Morgan, in which he detailed his perceived betrayal from the club and the inadequacy of its squad.
According to the report, Cristiano Ronaldo will join the squad on a two-and-a-half year deal, concluding when he is 40.
Neither the club nor the player have confirmed the deal, and no announcement is likely to be made during the tournament—though with reports out, this could always change.
Ronaldo headed to Saudi Arabia: What we know
There has been rumours swirling that Ronaldo would head to Saudi—or at least that Saudi Arabia was making strong overtures to Ronaldo that he never rejected publicly—for months. CBS Sports reported the latest offer from Al Nassr club last week, after Ronaldo became the first player to score a goal in five World Cup tournaments, after he scored in Portugal vs Ghana last week.
Ronaldo is coming off a victory over Uruguay, in which he was initially awarded a goal, only to be overturned after the game finished when it was concluded he never touched the ball—though commentators did agree that had he not been where he was, the goal would likely have never occurred.
Al Nassr is one of Saudi Arabia’s most successful football clubs, winning the Kingdom’s top flight nine times in total, most recently in 2019.
Al Nassr won the Saudi Super Cup in 2020 and 2021, managed by Rudi Garcia, who previously led Roma, Marseille and Lyon.
Due to contact being initiated over the summer, it is believed talks are relatively advanced but awaiting Ronaldo’s final decision. Should he choose to accept the offer, sources tell CBS Sports a deal would not take long to finalize,” wrote CBS.
Apart from being the best goalscorer in history, scored a world record 118 goals in 193 international games since making his Portugal debut in 2003, the star has recently minted his own NFT series, signaling that he is a man who loves saying yes to things.
And while we’re here, here’s a cool advertisement he did in Singapore one time.