By Victor Kanayo
It has now become most likely that former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo will on January 1, 2023 sign a contract for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, reports from Spain suggest.
The move is getting closer than expected less than two weeks after his dramatic exit from Manchester United just two days before the start of the World Cup.
The deal is understood to be one of the most lucrative in sports history and could see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner net close to €200million (£172m) per season.
The outlet claim that the initial deal will be worth close to 100m (£86m) but will be incentivised by further agreements such as advertisement and sponsorship deals.
The 37-year-old became a free agent at the end of last month after his fractured relationship with club chiefs worsened when he made a number of controversial statements in a TV interview with Piers Morgan.
The forward has made no comments over his future during the World Cup campaign – where his Portugal side find themselves in the round of 16 – but it seems he’s been working behind the scenes to get a deal done.
Al-Nassr are one of the most successful clubs in Saudi Arabia, having being crowned winners of the country’s top flight nine times, with their most recent triumph coming in 2019.
In both 2020 and 2021, Al-Nassr may not have won the league, but they did manage to win the Saudi Super Cup.
The club, however, have struggled to make a splash on the global scene, but they did compete in the Club World Cup in the 1999-2000 season.
That year they played against Real Madrid in their group, losing 3-1, with Nicolas Anelka and Raul among the scorers for the Spanish giants.
The Saudi giants also currently have a few big-name stars of the past in the form of former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo and Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar – who scored a contender for goal of the tournament at the Qatar World Cup last week.
