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Portugal star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a deal with the Al Nassr Football Club of Saudi Arabia that would keep him in the country until the summer of 2025.
The Saudi Arabian club announced on Saturday that it has officially signed the 37-year-old Portuguese superstar, confirming the news that had broken out during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar that ended a few weeks back.
Ronaldo will reportedly become the highest-paid footballer by receiving the biggest football salary in history at more than £177m per year.
History in the making. This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but 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 pic.twitter.com/oan7nu8NWC
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) December 30, 2022
“History in the making. This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves. Welcome, Cristiano to your new home,” the club based in Riyadh said on its official social media account on Saturday.
Media reports have claimed that Ronaldo could be getting more than 200 million U.S. dollars a year in West Asia. Some reports claimed that he will get 75 million a year, plus all the incentives and some percentage of ad revenue and sales.
In the summer, Ronaldo turned down a £305m deal to join another Saudi team – Al Hilal – because he was happy at United.
“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,” said the Portuguese captain, who will leave major European leagues for the first time in his career, reports Xinhua.
Ronaldo’s arrival gives the Saudi Arabian football league a huge boost in the region too as Al Nassr Football Club participates in the Asian Champions League.
As an iconic figure of European football, Ronaldo has won five UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid and Manchester United. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner also lifted Portugal’s national team’s first European Championship trophy in 2016.
Ronaldo, who scored 145 goals in 346 appearances for United, left Juventus to rejoin the Old Trafford club in August 2021 – 11 years after he departed to join Real Madrid.
Earlier in November, Ronaldo terminated his contract with Manchester United after an explosive interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV where he said that he felt “betrayed” by the club’s head coach Erik ten Hag and management team.
Later, he experienced a disappointing FIFA World Cup in Qatar where he could only manage to score one goal as Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals. Notably, Ronaldo was benched for Portugal’s knockout matches by Fernando Santos, who quit after their quarter-final exit.
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