As widely reported on December 5, by various international media outlets, Cristiano Ronaldo is now an Al-Nassr player. The Portuguese star commits to two and a half seasons as a player and until 2030 as an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s ambitious World Cup bid.
The Portuguese will get slightly over 200 million euros in total, making him the highest-paid player in the world.
Negotiations between Cristiano Ronaldo began last November in the middle of the World Cup, according to MARCA, but nothing was inked until lately.
To put everything in writing, the Saudi club’s president and sports director travelled to Madrid on Wednesday, and the contract was finalised on Friday afternoon.
Saudi Arabian authorities utilised their trip to Madrid to contact additional players, indicating a clear ambition to assemble a side that will capture the interest of the football world. Their next big target is Paris Saint Germain’s, Sergio Ramos.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al-Nassr comes after a tumultuous divorce from Manchester United. The club-player relationship has been tumultuous since the summer when the Portuguese expressed his intention to quit the English club. A strained relationship was shattered by the player’s pre-World Cup walkout.
Ronaldo’s next destination has been disclosed less than two months after he made his move from Manchester United official.
After 20 years, the Portuguese icon is leaving Europe and top football in a lucrative agreement that might be his final contract as a professional footballer.
Stunning figures
The primary motive for abandoning competitive European football and going on a new football journey was obviously financial.
Cristiano Ronaldo will serve as an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s image overseas in a kingdom that aspires to play an increasingly prominent role in sports. In reality, the former Real Madrid player’s entrance has been regarded as a matter of state.
The government has been accused of’sportswashing’ its human rights record, which has been defined as the ‘worst of the worst,’ by using football, Formula One, boxing, and other events to mask the country’s human rights record.
Among other human rights violations, homosexuality is outlawed in the nation and is punished by jail, physical or death punishment, and Saudi Arabia was judged to be guilty of the October 2018 horrific murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi.
Ronaldo’s deal includes cash incentives for advertising in addition to the large base (just under 100 million euros), making the Portuguese the best-paid sportsman in the world.
CR7’s contract with Al-Nassr will be worth close to 200 million euros every season.
Since his departure from Madrid, he has been on a downward spiral
He joins Al-Nassr at the age of 37, four and a half seasons after leaving Real Madrid, which marked the beginning of his downfall.
After three seasons at Juventus, where he scored a few goals but failed to win the Champions League, his return to Manchester United turned out to be a nightmare that ended with a back-door exit.
The new team
Al-Nassr was created in 1955 and plays its home games at Mrsool Park. Its colours are yellow and blue. French coach Rudi Garcia is now in charge, and players include Spaniard Alvaro Gonzalez and Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina.
Until 1960, when it was formally recognised by the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, Al-Nassr was an amateur club. Abdul Rahman bin Saud Al Saud was the club’s president at the time.
Al-Nassr began in the second division and was promoted to the first level in 1963. The club won four Saudi Arabian Premier League championships, six King’s Cups, three Crown Prince’s Cups, and three Federation Cups in the 1970s and 1980s.
Source: Marca.com
