Cristiano Ronaldo joins Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr
Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr after leaving Manchester United in controversial fashion, the club announced this evening.
Ronaldo forced his way out of Old Trafford last month, mutually terminating his contract following a contentious TV interview.
Spanish media reported that the 37-year-old trained alone at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground earlier this month as he prepared to take a decision on his future following Portugal’s exit from the World Cup.
Ronaldo endured mixed fortunes at the tournament in Qatar, becoming the first male player to score in five World Cups but only coming on as a second-half substitute as Portugal lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarterfinals.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was coy about his international future following that defeat, saying that he would “never turn my back on my teammates and my country” but adding that he would “let time be a good adviser and allow everyone to draw their own conclusions.”
Earlier this month United boss Erik ten Hag said the club were “looking to the future” after the forward’s departure, explaining that Ronaldo was “gone and it’s the past.”
Al-Nassr, who are based in Riyadh, play in the Saudi Pro League and have the second most top-flight league titles in the country’s history.
Former AS Roma, Marseille and Lyon manager Rudi Garcia will be tasked with extracting the most from Ronaldo’s remaining years.
