Cristiano Ronaldo has signed for Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia till 2025, the club announced, in a deal believed to be worth more than $214 million.
Al Nassr on Friday posted a picture on social media of Ronaldo holding up the team’s jersey, with the club hailing the deal as “history in the making.”
“I am eager to experience a new football league in a different country,” the club quoted Ronaldo as saying.
“The vision with which Al Nassr operates is very inspiring, and I am delighted to join my teammates, so that together we can help the team achieve greater success,” he added.
“This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves,” the club’s president Musli Al Muammar said.
History in the making. This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves. Welcome @Cristiano to your new home @AlNassrFC pic.twitter.com/oan7nu8NWC
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) December 30, 2022
The contract gives the 37-year-old Ronaldo a massive payday in what could be the final contract of his career.
Ronaldo will now seemingly see out the last years of his career far away from the spotlight of top European football, as he is by far the biggest name to go play in the Saudi Arabian league.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund owns Premier League team Newcastle, and the country is considering a bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
