Al Nassr fans let their excitement known to the world after the bumper €500 million acquisition of star forward Cristiano Ronaldo. In a breakthrough for Saudi football, they managed to land the most high profile signing in their sporting history in the former Manchester United forward. Moreover, Al Nassr’s bid for Ronaldo toppled a host of offers from Europe as well as the MLS to acquire his services.
The Saudi side gave a statement of their muscle power by enticing Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or to the club. And their fans were just elevated to welcome one of the greatest players to their club. The fans were already chanting the Portuguese’s name during their side’s 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej in the Saudi league.
Al Nassr make Cristiano Ronaldo the highest paid athlete of all time
While Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United exit looked imminent, his move to Saudi took the world by surprise. The 37-year-old’s return to United didn’t have an ending like the first one, when he bid farewell to the club by delivering a double of Premier League and Carabao Cup. It was a rather bitter one as his explosive Piers Morgan interview proved to be the tipping point for his departure.
Ronaldo hit out at the club and levelled several accusations against them, for “betraying” him and manager Erik ten Hag “disrespecting” him. As a result, it needed no telling that the two parties were going to part their ways as United terminated their topscorer from last season’s contract, days before he kicked the ball at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar with Portugal.
A woeful World Cup campaign with Portugal then followed for the captain, as he only managed one goal across five games at the tournament. Moreover, a fallout with manager Fernando Santos also led to Ronaldo’s shock benching in the last 16 and quarterfinal games, as Portugal were sent packing home by Morocco in the latter stage. The former Real Madrid striker returned to Portugal as a free agent with his agent on the lookout of a new club for his client.
And in came Al Nassr through the door, with a mindboggling package of €500 million for the striker. The Saudi side have signed Cristiano on a two-and-a-half-year deal, which will see him pocket the highest wages any athlete in the history of any sport has ever manager; a staggering €200 million per-year. It was a mega gift for the club’s fans as they chanted Cristiano Ronaldo’s name at the highest pitch during their side’s win over Al Khaleej, with the help of a sole striker from Vincent Aboubakar.
Ronaldo too seemed happy to have a new club before the turn of the year, as he labelled his transfer to Al Nassr as an “inspiring” one. He is yet to join the training with his new club, but should be ready to make his debut by this week. Ronaldo’s Al Nassr move now means the end of his European journey, where he conquered it all. The talismanic forward departs the continent with five Champions League trophies, seven league titles, three UEFA Super Cups and a number of records to his name.