According to rumours in Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo will sign a contract on January 1 with Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia.
Following his sudden departure from Manchester United only two days before the start of the World Cup, the Portuguese superstar appears to have finally found himself a new club.
The agreement, which is thought to be among the richest in sports history, could see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner make close to €200 million (£172 million) per season.
Ronaldo is expected to sign a contract with Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr at the beginning of next month, according to MARCA, Daily Mail said.
According to the outlet, the initial arrangement will be valued about $100 million (£86 million), but will be encouraged by subsequent deals like advertisements.
The 37-year-strained old’s relationship with club executives deteriorated when he made a series of contentious claims during an interview with Piers Morgan on television, and at the end of last month, he became a free agent.
The forward has not spoken publicly about his future during the World Cup, where his country’s team is currently in the round of 16, but it appears that he has been working behind the scenes to finalize a deal.
One of the most successful clubs in Saudi Arabia is Al-Nassr, which has won the nation’s top division nine times, the most recent of which was in 2019.
Al-Nassr may not have won the league in either 2020 or 2021, but they did manage to win the Saudi Super.
However, despite their struggles to stand out on a worldwide scale, the club did participate in the 1999–2000 Club World Cup.
In their group matchup that year, they faced Real Madrid, who scored three goals—Nicholas Anelka and Raul—to defeat them 3-1.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, the Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo, and the Cameroonian striker Vincent Aboubakar, who last week scored a goal that was a strong candidate for goal of the tournament at the Qatar World Cup, are currently on the roster of the Saudi giants.
They use the stadium at Mrsool Park, which can hold only 25,000 spectators as opposed to the 74,310 at Old Trafford.
Between March 2018 to March 2020, their chairman, Musalli Almuammar, presided over the entire league, the Saudi Pro League.
He presently serves as a consultant to the General Entertainment Authority, a Saudi Arabian government agency that oversees the entertainment sector.
Following his explosive two-part interview with Morgan on TalkTV earlier this month, it was reported that Ronaldo had left Manchester United by mutual consent with immediate effect. Sportsmail exclusively disclosed earlier this month that Ronaldo will say goodbye to £16million.
Many rumors followed his departure, but Premier League opponent Chelsea also lost interest in Ronaldo after his explosive interview in which he attacked United’s owner and manager Erik ten Hag.
Bayern Munich Chief Executive Officer Oliver Kahn also ruled out a move for Ronaldo last month following the Portugal star becoming a free agent.
“We have already dealt with this,” Kahn told Sky Sport Germany. “We have a clear idea, a clear philosophy of how our squad should be put together.
“We all appreciate him, there’s no discussion.
“We all love Cristiano Ronaldo, but that’s something that doesn’t fit into our idea.
