It was a rumor but this Friday, the penultimate day of the year, it came true: Cristiano Ronaldo will play in Saudi Arabia. The club to nasr confirmed the contract of the Portuguese striker, who will thus leave a long and successful career in Europe’s big clubs.
“Making history. This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to even greater success, but it will also inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls, to be the best version of themselves. Welcome @Cristiano to your new home @AlNassrFC,” the Saudi establishment wrote on Twitter.
Cristiano Ronaldo, without a club since the termination of his Manchester United contract “by mutual consent” in late November, has signed for two-and-a-half years. until June 2025with Al Nassr.
“I can’t wait to discover a new football league in another country”stated that he will turn 38 on February 5 and that he has already posed in his new yellow and blue shirt, emblazoned with his usual number 7.
The salary that the winner of five Ballon d’Ors will have is estimated at around 214 million dollars and this signing now puts the spotlight on the Saudi league, a league unknown to the general public.
“Al Nassr’s vision is very inspiring and I am happy to join my teammates so that together we can help the team achieve more success,” said the most followed personality on the social network Instagram.
However, the Portuguese champion is coming out of difficult months, after the stormy departure from Manchester United, a club where he made himself known in the elite between 2003 and 2009, and to which he returned in 2021 after moving to Real Madrid (2009 -2018) and Juventus (2018-2021).
Since the middle of this year, Cristiano Ronaldo, trained at Sporting Lisbon, wanted to leave the English club, and the arrival of Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag, who limited his playing time, made the situation worse.
His new challenge will be at Al Nassr, coached by the Frenchman Rudi García since July. This is a club that has won nine titles in Saudi Arabia, the latest being in 2019.
Football player and ambassador of Saudi Arabia in the bid for the World Cup?
After a complicated World Cup in Qatar for the 37-year-old megastar, who had an argument with his coach in his last World Cup and was relegated to the bench, the international media have started talking about an offer from Saudi football.
On December 22, however, the information ceased to be a rumor as Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Riyadh to sign a billionaire until 2025 after parting ways with Manchester United.
The footballer himself did not want the deal to go ahead when it came to light on November 23, given that he was focused on playing the World Cup with his team. But, with Portugal eliminated in the quarterfinals by Morocco, their representation went ahead with a connection that will also involve CR7 from another point of view.
It is estimated that the top scorer in football history (819 and more), as well as top scorer and multiple champion with Real Madrid, will be ambassador of the Arab country’s candidacy together with Egypt and Greece for the organization of the 2030 World Cup. They will compete with the application of UEFA (Spain-Portugal-Ukraine) and CONMEBOL (Argentina-Uruguay-Paraguay-Chile).
Source: Clarin
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