Cristiano Ronaldo was confirmed as an Al-Nassr player as he left Manchester United under a bit of a dark cloud.
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to play in the Saudi Pro League and, according to reports, will receive $75 million per year to make him the highest-paid player in history.
While the signing is a massive boost for Middle Eastern soccer, it will also fuel the debate about Saudi Arabia using so-called “sportswashing” to boost the country’s image internationally. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund owns Premier League team Newcastle, and the country is considering a bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
Ronaldo had been a free agent after his contract was terminated by Manchester United following an explosive TV interview in which he criticized manager Erik ten Hag and the club’s owners. He is coming off a disappointing World Cup where he was benched in the knockout rounds and Portugal lost in the quarterfinals to Morocco.
He will now seemingly see out the last years of his career far away from the spotlight of top European soccer, as he is by far the biggest name to go play in the Saudi Arabian league.
But he will have to what a little longer to make his debut. The 37-year-old was due to play his first game for his new club at Mrsool Park in the Saudi Pro League, after he was unveiled as an Al-Nassr player earlier in the week.
However, he will now not feature for Al-Nassr as he still banned for his behaviour following Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat against Everton last April. Ronaldo slapped the hand of Jacob Harding as he stormed down the tunnel at Goodison Park, damaging the boy’s phone in the process.
Ronaldo’s form for United following that incident was patchy at best and the striker was relieved of his duties in November after an explosive interview with Piers Morgan. The former Real Madrid man slammed the club, the Glazers and Erik ten Hag as he claimed he does not “respect” the United boss.
It was the final straw for Ronaldo as he left Old Trafford after scoring 27 goals in 54 matches since re-joining the club from Juventus 15 months ago. There was a lot of speculation surrounding Ronaldo’s future but he decided to move into a different continent and leave playing his club football in Europe for the first time in his career.
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