At the age of 37, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo began the journey of the final meters of his legendary career after his decision to join the Saudi victory in a fictional deal that carries with it new challenges and a huge financial benefit, while it will make the Saudi club under the global spotlight more than ever before.
Yesterday, Friday, the capital club, Riyadh, announced its contract with the best player in the world 5 times, until 2025, with a deal estimated at more than 200 million euros per season.
And Al-Nasr wrote on his official website, “The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Nasr, Mr. Musali Al Muammar, just signed a contract with soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.. until 2025,” adding that the contract was signed in the Spanish capital, Madrid, and that the player would wear “Number 7.”
The world's greatest athlete 🌏
officially signs for # the global 🤩 # Ronaldo_Nasrawi pic.twitter.com/BBq469mAYh
– Al-Nasr Saudi Club (@AlNassrFC) December 30, 2022
The club quoted the 37-year-old player as saying, "I am eager to experience a new football league in a different country. The vision with which Al-Nasr Club operates is very inspiring, and I am excited to join my teammates, so that together we can help the team achieve more successes."
He added, "We can see from Saudi Arabia's recent performance in the World Cup that it is a country with great football ambitions and has a lot of potential. I am lucky because I won everything I set out to win in European football, and I feel now is the right moment to share my experience in Asia."
Very happy that the greatest player in the history of football joined Al-Nasr Club and the Saudi League.
Our contract with Ronaldo is not aimed at winning a match or championship, but rather beyond that: transferring great experiences, high professionalism, and inspiring a generation that is passionate about sports.
I invite you to enjoy one of the chapters of the tremendous development in the Kingdom of Glory.
pic.twitter.com/LoR8zYXS7q
- Entertaining Al Muammar (@musalli9) December 30, 2022
Club president Musali Al Muammar tweeted, "I am very happy that the greatest player in football history has joined Al-Nasr Club and the Saudi League. Our contract with Ronaldo does not aim to win a match or a championship, but rather beyond that; transferring great experiences, high professionalism, and inspiring a generation that is passionate about sports. I invite you To enjoy a chapter in the tremendous development of the Kingdom of Glory.
"more than a historical chapter"
Al-Nasr, the league champion 9 times, most recently in 2019, who is supervised by French coach Rudi Garcia, wrote that “this deal is more than just writing a new historical chapter; this player is a higher example for all athletes and youth in the world, and with his presence in Al-Nassr, we will move forward to achieve more successes.” For the club, Saudi sports, and for future generations.
A source close to the club revealed - earlier - that the value of Ronaldo's transfer amounted to "more than 200 million euros", and that the player who led his country to the European Cup 2016 "will arrive in Riyadh next week."
Happy to have one of the best players in the world starting his new career in Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
Welcome to the Kingdom @Cristiano
And we will support the rest of our clubs for qualitative deals with international stars soon 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/MGZ58QcmXM
- Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal (@AbdulazizTF) December 30, 2022
In turn, the Saudi Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, tweeted, "I am glad that one of the best players in the world is starting his new career in Saudi Arabia. Welcome, Cristiano Ronaldo, to the Kingdom. We will support the rest of our clubs for quality deals with international stars soon."
The Portuguese star, crowned with 5 titles in the European Champions League, arrives in the Saudi League, against the backdrop of a disappointing participation in the World Cup in Qatar and an unfriendly separation from Manchester United, who decided to abandon him due to the public criticism he directed against him and his Dutch coach, Eric ten Hag.
It seemed clear in the Qatar Football World Cup, which concluded on the 18th of this month, with Argentine rival Lionel Messi winning the title, that Ronaldo entered the last era of his triumphant career after he was satisfied with sitting on the bench in the eighth and quarter-final rounds of his fifth participation in the World Finals.
I thank my dear brothers who worked and strived to complete the most important deal in the history of Saudi sports
, led by my dear optimistic brother Muhammad Al-Khuraiji
and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Walid Al-Muhaidib, Hassan Al-Sheikh, Abdullah Al-Turki.
pic.twitter.com/Yn4tMFI0XU
- Entertaining Al Muammar (@musalli9) December 31, 2022
The Qatar World Cup was a disappointment for Ronaldo in all aspects, although he scored the opening goal for his team against Ghana from a penalty kick, and then became the first player in the history of the World Cup to score a goal in 5 different versions.
And after he was satisfied with sitting on the bench in the sweeping victory over Switzerland (6-1) in the final price, he entered the second half of the quarter-final match against Morocco (0-1) without offering anything significant, to waste his celebration of playing 196 international matches. Equalizing the record registered in the name of Kuwaiti Bader Al-Mutawa.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)
Ronaldo entered the Qatar World Cup in a largely distorted way because of what he said about Manchester United and its coach Ten Hag, which led to the abandonment of his services.
The Qatari World Cup confirmed, without a doubt, that Ronaldo's position even in the ranks of his country was not the same as before, and his 196 matches or even his 118 goals (a record) did not satisfy him, to bid farewell to Al-Thumama stadium while crying, realizing that the last opportunity to embrace global glory had flown. .
Declining popularity
And before the final price match against Switzerland, the famous sports magazine "Apolla" in Portugal conducted a referendum with the Portuguese public whether they wanted Ronaldo to participate in that match, and 70% of them answered by staying on the benches of the reserve players.
Perhaps after they are fed up with the player's behavior in the recent period.
And the stage of decline actually began when CR7 decided to leave Spanish Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 to join Italian Juventus, looking for a new challenge after winning all possible titles with the Royal Club, most notably 4 in the Champions League, including 3 in a row from 2016 to 2016. 2018.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)
His experience in Juventus was uneven in terms of results, with only winning the league title twice and the local cup title once, without transferring his success in the Champions League to the giants of Turin gasping for a first title since 1996, but his personal numbers never declined, as he finished the first season with 21. goals in the league and 28 in all competitions, the second with 31 goals in the league and 37 in all competitions, and the third with 29 in the league and 36 in all competitions.
Suddenly, Ronaldo decided to return to the team that gave him his first title in the main continental competition, and he came again to “Old Trafford”, where he lived a completely different experience than the situation was in his first pass between 2003 and 2009, as he failed even to qualify with the “Red Devils” to the Premier League. Champions after a personally agreeable first season in which he scored 18 goals in 30 Premier League games and 24 in all competitions.
And with the arrival of Ten Hag to the team, things began to get more difficult, as he found himself marginalized in a season before his start, asking him to leave in search of entering his favorite competition, the Champions League, without getting what he wanted.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Manchester United (@manchesterunited)
But he knew how to get what he wanted in the end through his interview with the famous British journalist, Piers Morgan, on November 17, prompting the "Maneo" to abandon him.
No one thought that the new challenge that Ronaldo was looking for would bring him back to the Gulf region, where he played the Qatar World Cup, in order to defend the colors of victory, which is still looking for a first title in the AFC Champions League.