Global sports superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has an offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr to play on the peninsula through 2025 at approximately €173 million per year, which is about $181 million USD. According to reports, signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to their domestic league would help boost the league’s visibility and help the nation’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
Why Did Cristiano Ronaldo Leave Manchester United?
The Portuguese footballer recently “parted ways” with Manchester United after participating in an interview with Piers Morgan just before the World Cup break. During that interview Ronaldo criticized United coach Erik ten Hag and the club’s overall commitment to excellence.
“I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me,” said Ronaldo of ten Hag. “If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
“I want the best for the club. This is why I come to Manchester United,” said Ronaldo. “But you have some things inside that don’t help (us) reach the top level as City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal . . . a club with this dimension should be top of the tree in my opinion, and they are not unfortunately.”
"Since Sir Alex Ferguson left I saw no evolution in the club, the progress was zero."
Don't miss Piers Morgan's 90 Minutes with Ronaldo. Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm on TalkTV.@cristiano | @piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #PMU pic.twitter.com/VextyEu7f9
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) November 13, 2022
Ronaldo, Portugal Going For World Cup
Ronaldo will reportedly make the decision on which club team he joins next whenever Portugal’s run in the World Cup ends.
Portugal concludes group play on Friday against South Korea, but they’ve already advanced to the knockout stage and will face Switzerland, Cameroon or Serbia in the next round.
At 37 the Portuguese captain is not what he once was. But he’s still a very good goal scorer. It is unlikely any of the top European clubs from the Premiere League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A take him on at this stage of his career with the money he commands.
The MLS doesn’t have a club with the resources to pay what the Saudis can, despite the rumors that Inter Miami is close to signing Ronaldo rival Lionel Messi.
Highest Paid Player In All of Sports
If Ronaldo doesn’t care about the source of the Saudi money, and it’s unlikely he does, you go to the highest bidder, right? He’ll finish out his career in luxury and earn even more money.
The only thing holding the Portuguese footballer back is his desire to still compete in the Champions League. The all-time leading scorer in Champions League history would not be able to compete unless he was on a UEFA club team.
Despite their level, relative to the UEFA clubs, the Saudis are hopeful Ronaldo will join.
“Who wouldn’t want him to play in their league?” said Saudi Sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal. “He’s a role model to a lot of young players – him and Messi.”
The Saudis will eventually lure a big time footballer to their shores. Backed by the $620 billion sovereign wealth fund, it will be hard for many people to turn down a bite at the apple.
Then the Saudis can continue to sportwash and hide their atrocious human rights violations by presenting as some kind of sport-loving, enlightened nation. They only need one global superstar to help them do it.
