Cristiano Ronaldo rejected the chance to move to the USA before completing a free transfer move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s guaranteed football salary at Al Nassr will be close to $90m per year. 🇵🇹🇸🇦 #Ronaldo
Commercial/sponsorship deals (already approved by Cristiano’s camp) will be included in the agreement to bring total salary close to $200m. pic.twitter.com/0ILHxeuoK5
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 31, 2022
The 37-year-old was not subject to transfer window rules, following his controversial departure from Manchester United, and he joins his new club with immediate effect.
Despite finally making the bold move to the Middle East, Ronaldo was linked with moves to Turkey, Portugal and the USA.
As per reports from ESPN journalist Taylor Twellman, Ronaldo’s camp were in talks with MLS side Sporting Kansas City, ahead of rival MLS teams.
Multiple @MLS teams inquired about Ronaldo and his future but 1 team was already at the table: @SportingKC
Their offer was so compelling that Ronaldo’s team had multiple meetings w/SKC before taking the Saudi deal. The package (wages/commercial) was said to be “very close”. #MLS— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) December 31, 2022
The financial offer from Sporting Kansas was close to Al Nassr’s, but Ronaldo has opted for Riyadh over Missouri, as he looks to prolong his career past his 40th birthday.
