Cristiano Ronaldo has taken the Saudi League to another level. His shocking move to Al Nassr with a colossal $500 million-worth contract turned out to be a boon for the club and the league to achieve new heights. But, to the surprise of many, the Saudi club did not have to pay a single penny from their budget. A Saudi executive has now disclosed how Al Ahli paid for the legend’s transfer.
Al Nassr fans are hoping that Ronaldo and the club can agree on a contract extension. The player himself has intentions to finish his playing career in Saudi Arabia. It was quite surprising when he chose the Saudi move as the league at that time did not have any top European players. A contract of $500 million was agreed to complete the signing. However, now a top executive of the cash-rich league has revealed that Al Nassr did not pay a single penny for the signing.
A Saudi executive reveals how Al Nassr did not pay a single riyal for Cristiano Ronaldo deal
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Before signing him, the Saudi League organizers started a recruitment program. Under this program, every Saudi club was given a large amount of money to attract top signings, with which Al Ahli was able to poach one of the best ever in the sport’s history. So, essentially, the program paid for the deal. About the same, the CEO of the Saudi League Saad Al Lazeez said in an interview, “The deal of the legend Cristiano Ronaldo included the recruitment program and the Al Nassr club didn’t pay a single riyal.” {Translated from Arabic by Google}
🚨🚨|| سعد اللذيذ – رئيس رابطة الكرة في الدوري:
" صفقة الأسطورة كريستيانو رونالدو تكفل فيها برنامج الأستقطاب ونادي #النصر ما دفع ولا ريال." pic.twitter.com/wuC4NUALVb
— كورة | #النصر 🦁 (@9NFCBALL) November 19, 2023
The league organizers at the moment must be very happy with the impact Cristiano Ronaldo is making. There were also rumors of Al Hilal getting linked with the Portuguese star during his negotiations with Al Nassr. Now, Al Hilal’s CEO has revealed the reality behind the interest.
Al Hilal was not even in the race for the Portuguese star
The president of Al Hilal Fahad bin Nafel made a statement that the club wanted to sign Ronaldo. However, they could not move ahead as the arbitration program did not let them register new players. However, Saad-Al-Lazeez has revealed the interest of Al Hilal as a false rumor. He further said, “We opened the file of Cristiano Ronaldo and his negotiations from the beginning for Al Nassr Club only, and Al Hilal Club has nothing to do with it.”(Translated by Google).
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🚨🚨|| سعد اللذيذ – رئيس رابطة الكرة في الدوري:
" فتحنا ملف كريستيانو رونالدو ومفاوضاته منذ البداية لنادي #النصر فقط ولا دخل لنادي الهلال به ." 💛💛💛 pic.twitter.com/EvORZqPv4y
— كورة | #النصر 🦁 (@9NFCBALL) November 19, 2023
In the end, Al Hilal completed the signing of Brazilian soccer star Neymar from Paris Saint Germain. At the moment, the deal has not worked out as the Brazilian is out for a long time as he is recovering from his ACL injury. He will remain out for the rest of the season. However, for them, their other signings are doing wonders. The signings of Yassine Bounou, Malcolm, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Kouliably, Sergej Milinkovic Savic, and striker Aleksandar Mitrovic have done well to keep the club at the top of the Saudi Pro League table.
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Cristiano Ronaldo remains the highest goalscorer in the league this season with 13 goals. However, his team Al Nassr is four points behind table toppers Al Hilal. So the big question is can the Portuguese forward inspire his club in the second half of the season to win the Saudi Pro League title? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.