Since it was revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo's second spell at Manchester United ended abruptly and unexpectedly last month, speculation had surrounded the forward's next professional step.
After spending a large portion of this season on the bench, Ronaldo had six months left on his Old Trafford contract when the club decided to terminate it. Ronaldo then vented his frustrations toward the organization and manager Erik ten Hag in an angry interview with Piers Morgan.
While playing for Portugal in the FIFA World Cup, the 37-year-old was given the opportunity to put his club problems aside and concentrate on his international goals. However, things didn't quite go as planned, as Morocco, a tenacious underdog, ended Portugal's run in Qatar at the quarterfinal stage.
Ronaldo, who entered the game as a second-half substitute, suffered a humiliating 1-0 loss and was forced to depart the stadium in tears after learning that this was likely to be his final attempt to win the World Cup.
Ronaldo won't have much time to wallow in his misery, though, since it was revealed on Friday that the former United player has already found himself a new day job. In fact, Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia has declared that he will continue his club career there.
While it was widely believed that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner would stay in Europe to pursue his personal objective of breaking the record for most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo has instead chosen to move on and begin anew in a brand-new footballing environment.
He's not the first well-known athlete to decide to abruptly abandon European football in pursuit of a fresh challenge in a distant league on the other side of the globe, of course.
Gone before him were the likes of Iniesta, David Beckham, Oscar Marcelo and a lot of other elite players. Ronaldo will be unveiled in a televised ceremony by his new club Al-Nassr on January 3rd 2023.
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