Saudi Arabia: Portugal football team captain Christiano Ronaldo has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. With this, he has become the highest-earning player in the world. After playing for many years in Europe, he will now play for an Asian club. After the end of Ronaldo’s contract with his former club Manchester United, there was a lot of speculation about his future, which this news has now ended.
The inclusion of Ronaldo will strengthen Al Nassr’s team. The club has won nine Saudi Pro League titles and will be eyeing a tenth trophy. This club last became the champion of the league in 2019. Al Nassr’s side will now also hope to win the AFC Champions League for the first time.
After signing with Al Nassr, Ronaldo said that this is the right time to go to Asia. He said, “I am excited to experience a new football league in a different country. The vision of what Al Nassr are doing and developing in Saudi Arabia both in terms of men’s and women’s football is very inspiring. 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.”
He further added, “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. I am looking forward to joining my new teammates and together with them help the Club to achieve success.”
Ronaldo has won most of the major awards in European football. He won three Premier League titles with Manchester United and the Champions League with the FA Cup, two League Cups during his first stint at Old Trafford. Ronaldo re-joined Manchester United in 2021. However, his relationship with Erik ten Haag turned sour and he soon left the club. His exit from the club was confirmed only after his interview with Piers Morgan came to light just before the World Cup.
Ronaldo had a stellar run at Spanish club Real Madrid from 2009–18, where he won two LaLiga titles, two Spanish Cups, four Champions League titles, and three Club World Cups. He scored a club record for Real Madrid with 451 goals and has scored over 800 goals for club and country in total. Ronaldo also won two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia trophy in three years at Juventus. His fans are looking forward to his stint in the Al-Nassr club.