Saudi football president wants Man Utd star to play in his country
The president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Yasser Al-Misehal believes there could be more clubs from his country interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was the subject of a mega proposal from Al-Hilal earlier this summer where he had the chance to earn a staggering salary of around £2 million per week. However, the […]
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The president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Yasser Al-Misehal believes there could be more clubs from his country interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was the subject of a mega proposal from Al-Hilal earlier this summer where he had the chance to earn a staggering salary of around £2 million per week.
However, the Manchester United star turned down the offer. He also snubbed a similar proposal from Al-Nassr, but Al-Misehal feels there could be more offers from Saudi clubs next year.
He told The Athletic: “We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league.”
“It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I’m sure everyone knows the achievements and records of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also as a player who is a great role model.
“I think, ‘Why not?’. I’m sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course, but we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years.
“We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi league.
“I like Cristiano Ronaldo as a player and I would like to see him play in Saudi Arabia.”
Ronaldo may be reluctant to leave European football
Ronaldo had the chance to earn a humongous salary with the move to Saudi, but he opted to turn down their advances to stay with the Red Devils this summer.
There is still speculation that he could leave the club at the turn of the year, but that could be related to his desire to play Champions League football rather than for just money.
Aside from featuring in the European competition, the 37-year-old may also want assurances of a starting role, having dropped down the pecking order at United.
Marcus Rashford is now clearly the first-choice striker for the Premier League games under Erik ten Hag, and Anthony Martial should also feature regularly when fit.
It is unlikely that Ronaldo will settle as the third-choice striker. We may see him move on to a Champions League side in January, provided he accepts a massive pay-cut and United find a suitable replacement.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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