Ronaldo ignores Jorge Mendes to join Al Nassr

According to Marca (Spain), the person who received the offer from Al Nassr and carried out the negotiations afterwards was Ricardo Regufe, a close friend of Cristiano Ronaldo for many years. Ronaldo's official agent, Jorge Mendes, has no role in the deal.

On December 30, Ronaldo signed a two-year contract with Al Nassr. In Saudi Arabia, CR7 will receive the highest salary in the world 75 million USD per year. Total income can be up to 200 million if you include sponsorships and advertising.

According to Marca, the transfer started from the time Ronaldo released an interview condemning the old club Man Utd and coach Ten Hag on November 14. Al Nassr approached shortly after. When the 2022 World Cup was taking place, Ronaldo denied all relevant information. He didn't want any distractions, but negotiations were still going on and the Portuguese star knew it all.

Subsequent developments pushed Ronaldo to Al Nassr faster. In the World Cup, Ronaldo lost the main kick in the 1/8 round and quarterfinals. When meeting Morocco in the quarter-finals, Portugal had to receive a 0-1 defeat. When he returned to Madrid for training, Ronaldo also did not receive an offer from his old club Real as expected. According to Marca, at this point, CR7 realized it was not realistic to continue playing in Europe.

Finally, Ronaldo nodded to Al Nassr. This is where he can continue to start, score goals and receive the highest salary in the world.

Ronaldo started his career in 2002 at Sporting Lisbon. Then he moved to Man Utd, Real, Juventus and back to Man Utd. Those transfers were all arranged by Jorge Mendes, who is considered a transfer tycoon.

Al Nassr was founded in 1955. They have won Saudi Arabia nine times, once won the Asian Cup C2 and once reached the final of the Asian Cup C1 Cup. Al-Nassr had five Saudi Arabia players in the World Cup, where they beat Argentina 2-1 in the opening match.

Some of Ronaldo's new teammates have played in Europe. Goalkeeper David Ospina is a former Arsenal and Napoli. Anderson Talisca has four years with Benfica, Vincent Aboubakar has six years with FC Porto, and Alvaro Gonzalez has six years with Villarreal and Marseille.

Al Nassr is leading the 2022-2023 Saudi Arabia Championship. They have 26 points after 11 games, one point more than Al Shabab. Al Shabab played less than one game. Last season, Al Nassr placed third.

Thanh Quy (according to Marca)