Sports
Official: Ronaldo joins Saudi Arabian club, Al-Nassr on a two and half year deal

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
Sports
Santos relegated to second tier after a dismal season

Following a disappointing season, Santos FC, one of Brazil’s most successful and storied teams, has been demoted to the country’s second division for the first time in its 111-year history.
Santos, which has produced some of football’s biggest stars like Pelé, Neymar, and Robinho, ended 17th in the 20-team Brasileiro standings with just 43 points.
The club’s relegation was sealed on Wednesday evening as they were defeated 2-1 at home by Fortaleza, leaving them unable to escape the drop zone. Santos failed to win any of their last five matches, sealing their destiny despite a late surge in form.
Santos, founded in 1912, has a long history in Brazilian football, winning several state and national trophies as well as two Copa Libertadores wins in 1962 and 1963.
However, this year’s relegation represents a new low point for the team, which has battled in recent seasons to maintain its previously outstanding standards.
The club’s collapse has been felt more painfully by its devoted fans, who have become accustomed to seeing their side compete at the top levels of local and international football.
Sports
Yusif Chibsah advises players to be cautious while negotiating contracts

Yusif Alhassan Chibsah, a former Ghana international, has advised young and future footballers to be cautious when it comes to contract talks.
Speaking at the third edition of Robert Smith Law Group’s Law for Society Public Seminar, which took place over the weekend at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, the former Asante Kotoko and King Faisal midfielder urged players to be patient and careful in contract talks.
“As a footballer contract negotiations are very important because it involves a lot,” Chibsah, who is now a FIFA intermediary agent said.
“You have to be cautious and patient because your agent will have to negotiate on your behalf and sometimes you would want more while your agent feels it is fine but it is all about understanding each other. Being cautious and patient is very key and I entreat every footballer and young player to note that,” he added.
Chibsah presently manages Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad and other players in the Ghana Premier League.
In collaboration with Asempa FM, the Robert Smith Law Group hosted the third edition of its Law for Society Public Seminar.
Sports
Black Stars needs proper preparation for the 2023 AFCON – Sammy Kuffour

Former footballer Samuel Osei Kuffour has warned the Black Stars that appropriate planning is required ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Ghana has qualified for the 34th edition of the AFCON, which will be held in Ivory Coast next year.
Kuffour, who played for the Black Stars in the 2006 World Cup, believes the squad has to strategize ahead of time.
He also recommended that Ghana’s best chance of winning the AFCON lay not in immediate preparations for the tournament in Ivory Coast, but in a well-thought-out plan designed to harness the potential of the country’s developing youthful stars for the following two editions.
“There is a difference between preparation and planning; we are always prepared, but we don’t plan. If you look at the team we took to the World Cup last year, 17 of the players were under 25,” the former Ghana and Bayern Munich defender stated in an interview with Peace FM.
“So why are we pushing ourselves to go to Ivory Coast to win the cup?” We need to think about 2025 or 2027 because how old will the athletes be by then? Because we do not plan, we prepare, but there is a distinction between planning and preparation, therefore we must plan correctly; we require planning rather than preparation,” he continued.
Ghana, a four-time AFCON winner, has had a 40-year hiatus in capturing the coveted crown.
For the competition, which runs from January 13 to February 11, the Black Stars have been placed in Group B with Egypt, Cape Verde, and Mozambique.
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