With the first ever winter World Cup out in Qatar now through the Group Stages, and with good headway being made through the knockout clashes as the tournament slowly edges towards a close, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo is back in the news, and as speculated and fully expected, Saudi Arabian nine time champions, Al-Nassr, have officially now offered him a new deal.
Having had a pretty torrid season at Manchester United and Old Trafford in the 2022/23 campaign before the pause for the World Cup came into play, Ronaldo ultimately got what he wanted which was a departure from the club, as they agreed a mutual termination of his contract following his incredibly explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he blasted everyone from former, and current team mates, down to the clubs’ owners and few sportsbook bonuses saw that power move coming.
Ronaldo is understandably focused on what is likely to be his final World Cup adventure as a professional player, and he has previously stated that no decisions on his future will be made until the competition is over – but with the deal now officially on the table, few would blame him for raising an eyebrow as although a number of clubs have expressed and interest in his future services, Al-Nassr’s offer is said the be the largest yet by far at around 200 million Euros a year and PA sports betting apps would give good odds on this deal going through eventually.
Given the riches available to Al-Nassr they were always a strong favourite to enter the bidding for the now 37 year old free agent and many believe that they were the club that Ronaldo was referring to in his interview, when he claimed that he had turned down a £305 million offer over the summer.
The BBC quote a source close to the Saudi Arabian club who stated clearly that whilst the offer had been sent to Ronaldo’s team, he was sticking true to his word and that they had not yet heard back about whether or not he found it an acceptable offer.
“We are huge admirers and we, as any club, would love to sign him but understand his focus now is only on the World Cup.”
When the speculation first hit the headlines of their interest in him, it was suggested that image right could well be a problem given the make up of the contract they were preparing, but fans will have to see if that is a future problem to be solved or not.
Ronaldo has done himself no harm whatsoever so far out in Qatar when it comes to encouraging clubs to make an offer that he may find irresistible, as earlier in the tournament he became the first ever player to score at five different World Cups as he netted his penalty in their 3-2 win against Ghana, but even though he is a free agent, he cannot physically sign for a new club now until the January transfer window officially opens up on January 1 as his player registration was still held by United when the summer window slammed to a close.
Any new club for Ronaldo also had to deal with the existing two match ban he faces for knocking a mobile phone out of the hands of a fan following the clash with Everton last season.
It should not take too long before he is back in the news for the right reasons though.
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