Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed to extend his lucrative stay in Saudi Arabia and sign a new contract with Al-Nassr.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has signed until June 2026, while his current contract expires in the summer. Ronaldo, who turns 40 next month, is expected to receive £168 million a year to continue with the Saudi Pro League side.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner will see his income supplemented by signing bonus and commercial deals involving his image rights. Ronaldo has scored 17 goals in 20 games this season to maintain his value to the team both on and off the pitch.
However, the veteran was keen to be assured that investment would be made in the squad so that they would prove to be a competitive team, according to reports. Despite scoring 75 goals in 84 appearances for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has only won the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023 and twice finished as runners-up on home soil.
Ronaldo has urged Al-Nassr to sign Manchester United star Casemiro. The Brazilian was Ronaldo's teammate at Real Madrid.
The 32-year-old central midfielder is one of the players the Red Devils would like to release. United would like to see significant savings by taking his wages off the balance sheet.
A number of clubs from Saudi Arabia have been touted as destinations for Casemiro. Al-Nassr was one of them and Ronaldo seems keen to reunite with the five-time Champions League winner.
Casemiro has 18 months left on his United contract and has made more than 100 appearances for the club. The sale of the player has already been approved by head coach Ruben Amorim.
The midfielder has made just one start in the last seven Premier League games under Amorim and was criticized for his performance against Newcastle United. Casemiro may now have his work cut out for him to displace the likes of Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo.
After the defeat to the Magpies, Amorim said: “I can understand the criticism and I understand it when you compare the pace of the Newcastle midfielders to our pace.
“We try to deal with it and try to put our players in a position that can hide the pace difference a little bit. But I understand that after the match it is very easy to judge the players.
“I think all the criticism surrounding my team is justified and I can live with that. If it's honest, I can live with that and I can understand it.”
Comments