After countless reports, rumors and denials, it’s really happening: in Saudi Arabia it is reported that Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest players of all time, has signed a two-year contract with the Saudi Al Nasser. Ronaldo, who, as I remember, was interviewed before the World Cup and attacked Manchester United, will end his career in the league far from the limelight, but will greatly enrich his private pocket.
Ronaldo will be the footballer with the highest salary in the world of football, and by a huge margin, when according to reports, he should pocket no less than 200 million euros per season, not including a signing bonus of almost 100 million euros. Leo Messi and Neymar, for comparison, earn 75 and 70 million euros per season at Paris Saint-Germain.
Saudi Arabia hopes that the presence of the star will upgrade it and give it international fame. As you know, Saudi Arabia is trying to win the hosting of the 2030 World Cup, and hopes that Ronaldo will help it get on the world football map. Needless to say, Ronaldo will be the greatest Saudi league player of all time. In Al-Nasser he will collaborate with several other players with a European past, although not as impressive as his own. Among them you can find Talisca and Luis Gustavo from Brazil, Petey Martinez from Argentina, Vincent Aboucar from Cameroon, David Ospina from Colombia and Alvaro Gonzalez from Spain.
Remember, Ronaldo very much hoped to play in a senior team that plays in the Champions League. His super agent Jorge Mendes tried to match him with prestigious clubs such as Bayern Munich, Chelsea and even Atletico Madrid and Napoli. However, no senior team expressed any real interest in the player, who will be 38 years old this February. Ronaldo’s wonderful career was full of successes and titles, but did not include too many teams. Ronaldo grew up in Sporting Lisbon and moved at the age of 18 to Manchester United, in whose ranks he played for six years before making the publicized move to Real Madrid, he starred in the media for almost a decade. After the departure of the Blancos, there was a big decline in the fitness of Ronaldo who unexpectedly moved to Juventus and in the summer of 2021 returned to Manchester United to close a circle.