Portuguese soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday completed his signing with Saudi club Al-Nassr in a deal worth upwards of $200 million a year. Al-Nassr posted a picture on social media of the five-time Ballon d’Or holding up the team’s jersey after Ronaldo signed a deal until June 2025, with the club hailing the move as “history in the making.”
The forward, who left Manchester United by mutual consent last month, was linked with a potential move to Saudi Arabia since the World Cup in Qatar. He heads to the Gulf after a year that saw him relegated to the bench for Portugal and cut adrift by Manchester United following a controversial interview.
Ronaldo said in a statement that he was “eager to experience a new football league in a different country. I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football and feel now that this is the right moment to share my experience in Asia,” the forward added.
The Saudi club’s supporters consider the Portuguese star’s move as not only beneficial to their club, but also to their country’s top tier professional league. Al Nassr won nine Saudi Arabian league titles, the last in 2019.
For Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo is the latest high-priced sporting star acquired to add luster to their international image. Reports claimed that 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.