Cristiano Ronaldo has finally tied the knot with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr after spending one month as a free agent. Soccer fans are speculating that money is the reason he chose to leave his ambition to play at the highest level. However, Cristiano doesn’t agree with that.
Al-Nassr put their record-breaking offer on the table for the veteran Portuguese during the recent World Cup in 2022. Before moving to Saudi Arabia, he was linked to Chelsea. However, the deal didn’t materialize ultimately. On 30th December, Al-Nassr officially signed Cristiano on two and a half years deal. Yesterday the Portuguese arrived at Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport with his family before the medical and announcement ceremony.
Walks of the greatness 🐐💛 pic.twitter.com/7FzLZSchQ5
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) January 3, 2023
The Al-Nassr fans turned up to greet their newest superstar signing at Mrsool Park. The 25,000-capacity stadium erupted with joy as soon as Ronaldo made his way onto the pitch. They chanted the legendary Portuguese’s name continuously. Later on, he sat for a press conference with President Al-Muammar and the club’s head coach Rudi Garcia.
The 5x Ballon d’Or winner talked about his reasons behind joining the Saudi club. He said, “I’m so proud to make this big decision in my life. In Europe my work is done. I won everything and played for the most important clubs in Europe. This is a new challenge.”
The master of ceremonies asked him if he had any offers from other European clubs. He revealed, ”Nobody knows this, but I had many opportunities in Europe, Brazil, Australia, the U.S., even Portugal, many clubs tried to sign me. I gave my word to this club,” in the conference. “I want to give a different vision of this country and football. This is why I took this opportunity,” answering fan criticism and talking about his ambitions to move to Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s salary at Al-Nassr
After joining Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo became the best-paid soccer player on the earth. His Al-Nassr salary brings out mad numbers. The initial contract length is two and a half years, and Ronaldo is set to receive about $210 million (200 million euros), according to Fabrizio Romano.
Here’s Cristiano Ronaldo with Al Nassr shirt after contract signed until June 2025 🚨🇵🇹🇸🇦 #Ronaldo
▫️ Agreement valid for two years and half;
▫️ Total salary will be close to €200m per year, but this includes commercial deal.
It’s the biggest salary ever in football. pic.twitter.com/ZnOg8lY6Wb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 30, 2022
The Al-Nassr president Mussali Al-Muammar said that Ronaldo deserves the salary he was offered by them. He said, “He is the best player in football history so it is normal he will be the highest in terms of cost or salary,” Almuammar said. “This is something that he really deserves, so the amount of money he will take, he really deserves,” about making Cristiano Ronaldo the highest-paid soccer player in history.
Why did Cristiano Ronaldo leave Manchester United?
Cristiano Ronaldo has had an extremely tough 2022 for club and country. His return to Manchester United ended tragically. He had difficulties settling into Erik ten Hag’s new system and the manager preferred a more technically sound Martial ahead of him. The veteran striker was suspended by ten Hag following his denial to come on as a late substitute in a 2-0 win against Spurs.
Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.
The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford.#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 22, 2022
The Portuguese seemingly declined in the quality of his finishing instincts as well. He scored only 3 times in 16 games. Cristiano put the final nail in his Manchester United spell when he criticized the owners and ten Hag in a controversial interview with Piers Morgan. The club higher-ups in response terminated his contract. After a long saga, Ronaldo finally found Al-Nassr to be his new home.
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