Jamie Carragher doesn’t spare an opportunity to aim a dig at Cristiano Ronaldo, as the former Liverpool defender once again fired shots at the veteran forward over his move to Al Nassr. Ronaldo brought an end to his European chapter after signing a bumper contract with the Saudi side. The 37-year-old is now set to become the highest paid athlete of all time, by pocketing an yearly income of €200 million at the club over the course of his two-and-a-half-year deal.
However, the move came out as a surprise to many since it was being claimed that the legendary forward prefers staying in Europe for at least two more seasons. But it seems he rather chose to put a full-stop to his European expedition after the contract termination with Manchester United, and his ‘old ‘foe’ Jamie Carragher couldn’t stop from aiming another taunt, while his former teammate Gary Neville expressed his ‘sadness’.
Carragher takes Messi jibe at Cristiano Ronaldo over Al Nassr move
Cristiano Ronaldo completed his move to Al Nassr for a staggering €500 million package on a two-and-and-a-half-year deal which will see him pocket an annual income of €200 million. This is a massive signing in perspective for the Saudi Arabian football federation as well, since they have submitted their bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. However, that has brought sadness all over the Europe, which won’t be witnessing the greatness of the Portugal captain anymore. Talking about the transfer, Carragher told Sky Sports:
“In some ways it’s a sad end for him [Cristiano Ronaldo]. Two of the greatest players of all time in Messi and Ronaldo. That debate has always been there. Ronaldo has finished his career with an interview with Piers Morgan and Messi has won the World Cup. It’s not the best way to go out is it?”
Apparently, Carragher was reminding the world of the contrasting World Cup campaigns Messi and Ronaldo endured in Qatar. While Ronaldo had to bow out with Portugal from the quarterfinals itself after being shocked by Morocco, Messi on the other hand led his Argentina to ultimate glory by winning the coveted cup. Moreover, the Portugal captain’s tournament was marred by another controversy where he had a fallout with his manager Fernando Santos.
Messi, meanwhile, scored a fabulous 7 goals and provided 3 assists enroute to his nation’s third World Cup title. He also became the first player ever to win the Golden Ball at the tournament on multiple occasions having collected it in 2014 as well. The World Cup triumph also settled the ‘GOAT’ debate for many, with Messi finally toppling Ronaldo to the ultimate title. Ronaldo’s former teammate Gary Neville too expressed his ‘sadness’ over the five-time Champions League winner leaving Europe. Neville said:
“Look, we’re going to see a lot less of him, obviously. It tells us a couple of things, it shows how serious Saudi Arabia are about football. They’ve invested £350m on one player and are going for the World Cup in 2030. I thought he would want to stay in one of the big leagues in Europe, for the rest of the season at least.
“It tells you that the offer is absolutely staggering and maybe another European club that he wanted to join didn’t really come in for him. There’s an element of sadness for me because we’re probably seeing the end of Cristiano Ronaldo playing at the top level. I think we could have still had that at Old Trafford had it been handled differently by both parties. But it clearly had to come to an end and he’s going to see his career out in Saudi.”
The Saudi move casts an end to Ronaldo’s extraordinary European career, wherein he racked up over 700 goals in 949 club games across spells with Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. He also topped the charts as highest scorer, appearance maker and most assists in the history of Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo departs Europe with 30 trophies in his bag and 11 individual honors.