Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a two-year contract, the club announced on Friday.
The
37-year-old left Manchester United last month following an explosive
television interview in which the forward said he felt betrayed by the
Old Trafford club and did not respect their Dutch manager Erik ten Hag.
"I am eager to experience a new football league in a different
country. Al Nassr Club's vision is very inspiring," the Saudi outfit
quoted Ronaldo as saying. Ronaldo will arrive in Saudi Arabia with a vast collection of club
honours after a glittering spell at Spanish giants Real Madrid from
2009-18 where he won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, four
Champions League titles and three Club World Cups.
He went on to score a club record 451 times for Real and has more than 800 senior goals overall for club and country. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also claimed two Serie A titles and a
Copa Italia trophy in three years at Juventus before rejoining United
with whom he had won three Premier League crowns, the FA Cup, two League
Cups, the Champions League and Club World Cup.
"We're going to see a lot less of him, obviously," Neville commented. "It
tells us a couple of things. One, how serious Saudi Arabia are about
football. They aren't going away. They've invested £350m on one player.
They are trying to strengthen the league.
"But for Cristiano
Ronaldo, I felt as though he would want to stay, for the rest of this
season at least, in one of the big leagues in Europe and score more
goals. Potentially find a Champions League club.
"It tells me that
the offer is staggering. Maybe the club that he wanted in Europe didn't
come in for him and this was his option to go for. An element of
sadness, in terms of we've probably seen the last of Ronaldo playing at
the top level.
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