Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Insider
DOHA, Qatar — Portugal will not play their final group game for another two days, but once again Cristiano Ronaldo was in the headlines at the World Cup on Wednesday, as a Spanish newspaper reported that he will agree to a remarkable transfer in Saudi Arabia. Al-Nassr Arab Club.
Ronaldo was left on the loose after leaving Manchester United by mutual consent at the start of the tournament, following a blow-out with head coach Erik ten Hag and an interview with British TV presenter Piers Morgan.
Still, despite his status as one of the top two players of the past 15 years, alongside Lionel Messi, Ronaldo did not receive the kind of offers from Europe’s elite clubs that one would have expected to bid for his services.
Madrid newspaper Marca, who reported extensively on all things Ronaldo during his successful spell with Real Madrid, reported that a move to Al-Nassr was “agreed”.
The figures being mentioned are naturally staggering, with Marca reporting a total package worth $207.4 million per season, “including salary and advertising contracts.”
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Ronaldo had previously been linked with several European clubs including Chelsea and Bayern Munich, and even a possible move to Major League Soccer.
Al-Nassr is a nine-time Saudi league champion and last won the title in 2019. Ronaldo is expected to sign for 2.5 years, which would take him past his 40th birthday.
Ronaldo has had his fair share of turmoil in this tournament, although Portugal won their first two games to top Group H and only their next clash with South Korea remains.
He interrupted a Portugal media session that was scheduled to include other players before the first game to implore reporters to stop asking questions about his departure from United, but then made the unusual move of skipping the wheel press from his own captain a day later.
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Alexi Lalas and David Mosse react to Portugal’s win over Uruguay.
Against Ghana, he became the first man to score in five World Cup finals and thought he had equaled Portugal legend Eusebio’s national record of nine total World Cup goals with a header against Uruguay, which was later attributed to Bruno Fernandes.
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