Cristiano Ronaldo’s era in European football is officially over! Or, at least, put on hold. CR7 has signed a deal with Al Nassr and in this video, we’ll tell you why he made the decision and reveal all the details behind the move! So, like this video and let’s get started!
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Transfer Saga
The fact that Cristiano would leave Manchester United was obvious after the scandalous interview with Piers Morgan, where he mercilessly criticized the Red Devils. So parting in that situation was the only possible way out.
After that, the issue of a new club for Ronaldo became urgent. He didn’t hide that he would like to continue playing in Europe, in a club that played in the Champions League. Moreover, Cristiano wanted a transfer as early as last summer.
From time to time, information appeared in the media that the Portuguese was being offered to one club or the other that had qualified for the UCL. The most rumors were connected with Chelsea, Atlético and Napoli. There were also reports about coming back to his home club Sporting.
But more shocking information appeared to Morgan already after the interview: Cristiano Ronaldo was probably offered to almost all clubs from the Champions League group stage.
“He was even offered to us,” said Axel Hellman, the executive board member of Eintracht Frankfurt.
The fact that the Portuguese was never attached to any club led to a strained relationship between him and his long-time agent Jorge Mendes. Cristiano was obviously not satisfied with the work of the agent.
The golden opportunity for the 37-year-old forward to work on the invitation of a good European club was the World Cup, but Cristiano performed poorly there, losing his spot in the national team’s starting XI during the tournament.
And then came Al Nassr!
Move to Al Nassr
Rumors that Al Nassr could be Ronaldo’s next club appeared during the World Cup. Various journalists reported from time to time about the Arabian club’s lucrative offer, and some of them said that Cristiano had already agreed to the transfer.
However, the Portuguese’s associate Piers Morgan repeatedly denied that information. And since he created the image of a person close to the Portuguese, he was trusted. In fact, it could very well have been true at the time, as Morgan wasn’t saying there was no offer from Al Nassr and he could have meant that Cristiano hadn’t agreed to it.
After the end of the World Cup, Ronaldo began to train at the Real Madrid training center and also arranged for his son to attend Los Blancos academy. This gave rise to a new wave of rumors about Ronaldo’s possible return to the Bernabeu. However, this was also denied.
Finally, on December 30, it was announced that Cristiano had signed a 2.5-year contract with Al Nassr. Another saga was complete, but why did the fate of the Portuguese turn out like this?
The first and most important reason is very banal: none of the top European clubs needed him. It’s as simple as that. And it’s not about Ronaldo’s playing qualities, but about the fact that no one wants to build a team around one player, who will soon turn 38.
No matter how well Cristiano takes care of his body, age shows. Previously, his phenomenal stats allowed us to turn a blind eye to the lack of defensive work and rather difficult character, but no one is ready for this now.
At Al Nassr, Cristiano will get what he wants so much: he will be a leader in the team, he will have game practice and the whole team will play for him. Most likely, he will not have any criticism there, unless he quarrels with someone again. And, of course, one cannot ignore cosmic financial conditions.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Cristiano’s salary will be about 90 million dollars a year in guaranteed payments. But taking into account sponsorship and commercial contracts, which will be agreed in advance, this sum will grow to about 200 million dollars per year.
Thus, for 2.5 years of the contract, CR7 will earn approximately 500 million dollars. Not bad, right? By means of simple mathematical calculations, it can be determined that the Portuguese will earn 6.5 dollars every second. That’s just crazy! And, of course, this contract will make him the highest-paid athlete in the world.
For Cristiano, who likes to be first everywhere, this status is probably even more important than the sum of the contract. So we can congratulate him on that! By the way, Jorge Mendes was not in the picture with the announcement of Ronaldo as an Al-Nassr player, which confirms the theory about the deterioration of the relationship between the player and the agent. And what do you think? Is this the end of their cooperation?
