Cristiano Ronaldo’s future continues to remain the subject of uncertainty and a Saudi Arabia club has offered a £250 million deal to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to sort it out.
A return to his old stomping ground in the Premier League, Old Trafford, turned out to be a less than favourable experience for the enigmatic forward. On a personal level, he hit a number of milestones including rounding his total goals for Manchester United to 100. That was the third time he achieved that feat in his career, after doing it with Real Madrid and Juventus.
He also won a few individual accolades and finished as the club’s top scorer for the season. However, it was not enough as Man United struggled to finish in sixth place in the 2021/22 season. That became the first season in over two decades which would see United miss out on the UEFA Champions League.
It would also be the first time Ronaldo would miss out on the competition where he has played since his debut to become the top goalscorer and the most capped player.
That led to speculation about his future at Old Trafford and if he would see out the last year of the two-year contract he signed upon his return. The news has since being in favour of him leaving the club but finding a new club seems to be the most difficult task of his illustrious career.
United and Mendes to be fairly compensated for Ronaldo’s signature
However, the search could soon be over as CNN Portugal reports that an unnamed club based in Saudi Arabia is willing to offer him £105 million-per-annum for two seasons after they pay United £25 million for his services.
The transfer fee proposed is more than handsome for the Red Devils who signed Ronaldo for less than £20 million (including the transfer fee to Juventus and bonuses to Ronaldo and his agent, Jorge Mendes) at the beginning of the 2021/22 season.
The Saudi club are also ready to incentivise Jorge Mendes with £20 million to facilitate the deal.
Manchester United’s new manager, Erik ten Hag, is looking forward to having Ronaldo in his team next season, however. The former Sporting Lisbon man is not with the club for their pre-season activities but ten Hag is adamant about the club’s desire to keep Ronaldo.
It remains to be seen what will come of the saga and if Ronaldo will be willing to move to the Middle East to play football.
