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New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Saudis in 'difficult' talks to keep Ronaldo next season: PIF source
RIYADH: Saudi officials are in "difficult" talks to keep Cristiano Ronaldo in the country, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told AFP on Thursday, after the star footballer suggested he was leaving Al Nassr. The Portuguese superstar, whose arrival in 2023 heralded a rush of late-career players to the oil-rich country, could transfer to Al Hilal and feature at the upcoming Club World Club, the source said. "There is an ongoing difficult negotiation to convince Ronaldo to stay and play" in the Saudi Pro League next season, said the source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football. "First option is a transfer to Al Hilal with an opportunity to feature in the FIFA Club World Cup or to Asia champion Al Ahli," the source added. The oil-funded PIF, the sovereign wealth fund behind a number of big-ticket Saudi investments, controls a group of Pro League clubs including Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli. Ronaldo posted "This chapter is over" hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up this week with Al Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again. A special transfer window opens from June 1-10 to allow the 32 teams involved in the newly expanded Club World Cup to sign players. Last week, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said "there are discussions" over the former United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon star playing at the tournament in the United States from June 14. Portuguese forward Ronaldo, 40, joined Al Nassr in early 2023 from Manchester United and his contract expires at the end of next month. "Ronaldo's presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia," the PIF source said. Ronaldo's announcement comes just months after Brazilian star Neymar ended his injury-plagued 18-month stay in January, after playing just seven times for Al Hilal – on a reported salary of around $104 million a year. Although Ronaldo was the Pro League's top scorer with 25 goals, he has been unable to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al Nassr, who lost in the Asian Champions League semi-finals last month. Last year, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr, the Riyadh team favoured by a number of Saudi royals. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's great rival Lionel Messi will play at the Club World Cup with Inter Miami. During a recent interview with YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed, Infantino said: "And Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. "There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup... who knows, who knows." Saudi Arabia has shaken up football by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo's move, and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034. — AFP
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The goals kept coming but no title – so what now for Cristiano Ronaldo?
For a social media post described around the world as 'cryptic', it doesn't seem all that hard to decipher. Minutes after Al-Nassr's last game of a disappointing season ended in defeat on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo – who had previously said that he was happy to finish his career in Saudi Arabia – posted on social media. 'This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.' The biggest star in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) looks to be on his way out of Riyadh after two and a half years of personal milestones but no major trophy with Al-Nassr. With the Yellows no closer to a first title since 2019 than when he joined in December 2022 and no place in Asia's Champions League next season, the 40-year-old may not, as the club had long expected, extend his contract – which ends on 30 June – for another year. Advertisement Related: Melbourne City Women suffer penalty agony in Asian Champions League final The season was similar to the one before for captain and club but not quite as good. Al-Nassr finished third, one place lower and 12 points fewer than last season. Ronaldo finished as top scorer with 25, 10 fewer than his record haul of 35 from the previous campaign. There were some spectacular strikes, some trademark headers and eight penalties. All in all, 99 goals in 111 games for Al-Nassr in all competitions is impressive. The club would have been even worse off had they not been handed three extra points on Monday morning. Just hours before the final round of games kicked off, Al-Nassr won their appeal to overturn a 2-1 loss at lowly Al-Orobah in February. The Al-Orobah goalkeeper Rafi al-Ruwaili was, the claim went, ineligible as he was not a full-time professional (in contravention of the league's rules) and instead worked for the government. That decision meant that, going into the final game, there was still a chance of Al-Nassr finishing second and taking the last Champions League spot from Al-Hilal, whose midfielder Rúben Neves said it was all a disgrace. Al-Nassr lost anyway but, thanks to their successful appeal, did manage to squeeze into the Champions League Two, Asia's second-tier tournament. It could be that Ronaldo did not fancy playing in what is a low-key affair, though his presence would have changed that to some extent. Advertisement It is not the only tournament that would like a bit of the stardust provided by the most followed person on Instagram. There is talk of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner being loaned to one of the 32 teams in the Fifa Club World Cup that kicks off on 14 June. The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, said as much last week to the online streamer IShowSpeed. 'There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup … who knows, who knows?' Those comments understandably went down badly with Ronaldo's current employers. Their Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal are one of the reported interested parties. For Al-Nassr fans the idea of their biggest star in the shirt of their biggest rivals may be unbearable but the two clubs have, after all, the same Public Investment Fund (PIF) owner and, after losing Neymar, Al-Hilal want a big star for the tournament. Off the pitch there are none bigger but on it Ronaldo was unable to lift a misfiring team to the next level. Al-Nassr produced in moments but struggled for fluency and consistency. It was not a surprise when Luis Castro was fired early in the season and the former Serie A winner Stefano Pioli came in and had similar issues. On Monday, Sadio Mané admitted that it had been a poor season but also put some of the responsibility on the fans for not coming out in big numbers consistently. The former Liverpool man may have been thinking of Al-Ittihad's support, which averaged almost 40,000, more than double Al-Nassr's. Such energy may have helped the Jeddah team win a 10th title. Laurent Blanc arrived to bring some calm after last season when the Tigers had fired Nuno Espírito Santo and then brought in Marcelo Gallardo from River Plate for a short-lived spell. Advertisement Karim Benzema had fewer injury problems this time around, scoring 21 with none coming from the penalty spot. Moussa Diaby excelled in his first season after arriving from Aston Villa and ended sharing top spot in the assist charts with Salem al-Dawsari of Al-Hilal. Steven Bergwijn impressed as did N'Golo Kanté in midfield. Last year Al-Hilal stormed to the title on the back of a world record 34-game winning streak but were less impressive this time round, finishing second and also crashing out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage. By that time, the coach, Jorge Jesus, had seemed to lose control of his players and the Portuguese left before the end of the season. Al-Ahli, led by Riyad Mahrez and the increasingly prolific Ivan Toney – who ended on 23 goals, second only to Ronaldo and enough for an England recall – were satisfied with a first Asian title. And that is the PIF-owned Big Four but perhaps there are more now. Al-Qadsiah, backed by the oil giant Aramco and led by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, finished fourth (and would have ended a place higher without Nassr's late appeal) and look to be here to stay, Next season, the newly promoted Neom SC will be there too. The end of season headlines, however, belong to Ronaldo. Since he arrived in Saudi Arabia, it has been that way, which was always part of the plan. Now the focus is on what happens next.
Observer
4 days ago
- Sport
- Observer
Ronaldo says Al-Nassr chapter 'over'
Paris - Cristiano Ronaldo indicated on Monday that he could leave Al Nassr after declaring that a "chapter is over" hours after the Saudi Pro League finished. The 40-year-old Portuguese forward joined Al Nassr in 2022 from Manchester United, and his contract with the Saudi club ends this summer. A special transfer window runs from June 1-10 to allow the 32 clubs involved in the Club World Cup to sign players. Al-Nassr aren't at the Club World Cup, unlike fellow Saudi side Al Hilal. FIFA president Gianni Infantino last week said, "There are discussions" over the former United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Sporting Lisbon star playing at the enlarged tournament in the United States starting on June 14. "This chapter is over," Ronaldo cryptically said on social media with a photo of him in an Al Nassr shirt. "The story? Still being written. Grateful to all." Al Nassr lost in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League last month to Japan's Kawasaki Frontale and finished third in the Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo was the league's top goal scorer with 24. Last year, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr. Ronaldo's great rival Lionel Messi will play at the Club World Cup with Inter Miami. During a recent interview with YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed, Infantino said: "And Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. "There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup... who knows, who knows."
The South African
4 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Cristiano Ronaldo drops bombshell, says Al-Nassr chapter 'over'
Cristiano Ronaldo indicated on Monday that he could leave Al Nassr after declaring that a 'chapter is over' hours after the Saudi Pro League finished. The 40-year-old Portuguese forward joined Al Nassr in 2022 from Manchester United and his contract with the Saudi club ends this summer. A special transfer window runs from June 1-10 to allow the 32 clubs involved in the Club World Cup to sign players. Al-Nassr aren't at the Club World Cup unlike fellow Saudi side Al Hilal. FIFA president Gianni Infantino last week said 'there are discussions' over the former United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon star playing at the enlarged tournament in the United States starting on June 14. 'This chapter is over,' Ronaldo cryptically said on social media with a photo of him in an Al Nassr shirt. 'The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.' Al Nassr lost in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League last month to Japan's Kawasaki Frontale and finished third in the Saudi Pro League. Cristiano Ronaldo was the league's top goal scorer on 24. Last year, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr. Ronaldo's great rival Lionel Messi will play at the Club World Cup with Inter Miami. During a recent interview with YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed, Infantino said: 'And Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. 'There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup… who knows, who knows.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Ronaldo says Al-Nassr chapter ‘over'
"This chapter is over," Ronaldo cryptically said on social media with a photo of him in an Al Nassr shirt. Cristiano Ronaldo indicated on Monday that he could leave Al Nassr after declaring that a 'chapter is over' hours after the Saudi Pro League finished. Photo: Fayez NURELDINE / AFP Cristiano Ronaldo indicated on Monday that he could leave Al Nassr after declaring that a 'chapter is over' hours after the Saudi Pro League finished. The 40-year-old Portuguese forward joined Al Nassr in 2022 from Manchester United and his contract with the Saudi club ends this summer. A special transfer window runs from June 1-10 to allow the 32 clubs involved in the Club World Cup to sign players. Al-Nassr aren't at the Club World Cup unlike fellow Saudi side Al Hilal. FIFA president Gianni Infantino last week said 'there are discussions' over the former United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon star playing at the enlarged tournament in the United States starting on June 14. 'This chapter is over,' Ronaldo cryptically said on social media with a photo of him in an Al Nassr shirt. 'The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.' Al Nassr lost in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League last month to Japan's Kawasaki Frontale and finished third in the Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo was the league's top goal scorer on 24. Last year, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr. Ronaldo's great rival Lionel Messi will play at the Club World Cup with Inter Miami. During a recent interview with YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed, Infantino said: 'And Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. 'There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup… who knows, who knows.'
