Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal football sensation and former Manchester United player, has signed a $75 million-per-year deal with the Saudi Arabian team Al Nassr. The deal, understood to run until the end of the 2024-25 season, ends a short free agency period for the 37-year-old, whose Manchester United contract was terminated last month.
According to CBS Sports, Ronaldo has already finished the parts of his medical necessary to sign his contract while a second set of tests are expected to take place next week.
In announcing the deal, the club said that “the world’s greatest athlete officially signed for Al Nassr.”
The first rumors about Ronaldo being signed by Al-Nassr surfaced during the World Cup. Ronaldo has been a free agent since his contract with Manchester United expired on November 22, 2022. The 37-year-old was expected to sign a two-year contract with the Saudi organisation, but Marca reports that the deal will now last until 2030.
After his playing career at the club concludes in 2024, according to the Spanish daily, Ronaldo will take on an ambassador role at Al-Nassr, where he would also periodically see an increase in his €200 million annual salary.
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After Portugal’s World Cup round of 16 victory over Switzerland by a score of 6-1, Ronaldo openly denied having a deal with Al-Nassr. The club had also declined to comment on any talks.
Rudi Garcia, the manager of Al-Nassr, has said he would be excited to work with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. “I think that any coach would be delighted to train a great star like Cristiano. I have always thought that the great players are the easiest to manage because they are very intelligent,” Garcia stated a month ago.
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Meetings have been held in recent weeks, but Al Nassr only managed to shape the contract at the start of this week. In order to prevent the loss of financial control caused by CR7’s presence, Al Nassr will release up to three players. The two candidates quitting are Masharipov and Pitty Martinez.
There has always been talk about spending 200 million euros on each season. According to what MARCA reported, this sum is for the two and a half years as a footballer; it will rise once Ronaldo is named an ambassador for the World Cup bid.
