Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
Ronaldo agrees on a contract at Al-Nassr lasting until 2025 after leaving Manchester United in November.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has signed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr on an extraordinary £165 million a year contract in the wake of his tumultuous exit from Manchester United last month.
The move effectively brings an end to Ronaldo’s 20-year top-level club career after his hopes of joining a side that could offer him Champions League football failed to materialize. Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
But the Portugal striker – who had been a free agent after leaving United only a week after an explosive interview with Piers Morgan – sought desperately to put a positive spin on his contentious transfer to Al-Nassr on Friday night.
“I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football and feel now that this is the right moment to share my experience in Asia,” Ronaldo, 37, said. “I am looking forward to joining my new teammates and together with them helping the club to achieve success.Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
“I am excited to experience a new football league in a different country. The vision of what Al Nassr is doing and developing in Saudi Arabia both in terms of men’s and women’s football is very inspiring. Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
“We can see from Saudi Arabia’s recent performance at the World Cup that this is a country with big football ambitions and a lot of potentials.”Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
Ronaldo has signed a two-and-a-half year contract to June 2025 that is estimated to be worth the equivalent of almost £3.2m a week once all commercial commitments, image rights, and bonuses are factored in. His base salary is said to be around £62m a year.Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
The five-time World Player of the Year seems set to join his great rival Lionel Messi in taking up a promotional position with Saudi Arabia, who have faced severe criticism over their human rights record.Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
It has been reported that Ronaldo could have an ambassadorial role in any potential Saudi bid for the 2030 World Cup, although that remains to be seen since his home country Portugal also due bid for the rights to host the tournament with Spain and Ukraine.
Ronaldo – who will wear the No. 7 shirt – is due to undergo a medical before being unveiled to fans in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in the coming days.Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
Al-Nassr president Musalli Almuammar said Ronaldo was a “special football and a special person whose impact is felt far beyond football” and that he would be joining a club “with big ambitions” and will be welcomed by a country “making massive progress on and off the pitch with opportunities for all”.Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
“This is more than history in the making,” Almuammar said. “This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation, and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves.”Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Saudi club Al Nassr FC on £165m a year deal
Al-Nassr – who are managed by the former Roma and Lyon coach Rudi Garcia – are currently second in the Saudi Pro League but are not competing in the Asian Champions League this season.
Ronaldo had originally wanted to quit Old Trafford last summer for a club in the Champions League but his only offer was from Al Nassr’s Saudi rival, Al Hilal, and his prospects of landing a move to another European club did not improve over subsequent moves.
Many United fans have been left puzzled by the lengths to which Ronaldo went to force his exit only to now end up in what effectively is a club football backwater.
Ronaldo had been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, and Bayern Munich in the summer but none of those clubs made offers and the player’s relationship with United slowly began to disintegrate.
After missing United’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia for personal reasons, he left Old Trafford without permission before the end of a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
After refusing to come on as a substitute against Tottenham in October at Old Trafford, Ronaldo was dropped from the squad for the next game against Chelsea by Ten Hag.
The point of no return was reached when Ronaldo gave an extraordinary, unauthorized interview to Piers Morgan at TalkTV in which he claimed he had been “betrayed” by United and launched a blistering attack on Ten Hag, claiming he had no respect for the Dutchman.
He also accused the club of being stuck in a time warp and hit out at the Glazer family’s ownership.
With United confident that Ronaldo had effectively breached his contract, a mutual agreement was reached to terminate his contract and he left the club with immediate effect on Nov. 22 on the eve of Portugal’s opening World Cup match.
Ronaldo had a disappointing World Cup in Qatar where, despite Portugal’s run to the quarter-finals, he lost his place in the starting XI as the tournament entered its knockout stages and watched his replacement Goncalo Ramos score a hat-trick in a 6-1 last-16 win over Switzerland.
