Cristiano Ronaldo has signed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr on a sensational £175million-a-year contract following his tumultuous exit from Manchester United in November.
Ronaldo, 37, had been a free agent after leaving United in the wake of his damning and controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
And Al-Nassr have now confirmed Ronaldo has put pen to paper, with reports in Saudi Arabia stating he has signed on a two-year deal.
The Saudi Pro League club announced his arrival in a tweet saying: ‘The world’s greatest athlete officially signed for Al-Nassr’.
His decision to move to Saudi Arabia effectively ends his career at the top level. It is thought Ronaldo had been hoping to secure a switch to a Champions League club but it never materialized.
Part of his role as an ambassador will be to help Saudi Arabia’s joint bid with Egypt and Greece to host the 2030 World Cup, it has been claimed.
He joins arch rival Lionel Messi in taking up a promotional position with the gulf nation, which has faced criticism for its human rights record, as well as crackdowns on women’s rights activists, LGBTQ+ people and those who speak out against the rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ronaldo had initially dismissed reports that he was set to sign for the Saudi outfit, with sources close to the player telling Sportsmail it was ‘nonsense’ that a deal had been signed.
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.
Ronaldo had admitted rumours of a €350m (£310m) offer for two seasons from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club in the summer were true – an offer he had declined.
Ronaldo had previously been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Napoli after stunning United officials by telling the club he wanted out in the summer transfer window.
Ronaldo left United in November – having returned to Old Trafford to much fanfare in September 2021- in an acrimonious departure following his incendiary interview with Morgan.
His exit following a mixed second spell at the club was agreed by mutual consent but Sportsmail revealed United did not pay any compensation for the remaining seven months of his £500,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford.
United’s lawyers had been looking to tear up his deal in response to the interview. In the sitdown with Morgan, Ronaldo said he felt betrayed by the club and had no respect for United boss Erik ten Hag.
