It’s official: Cristiano Ronaldo has signed to join the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
History in the making,” Al Nassr FC wrote in a Twitter post on its official English-language account.
“This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves. Welcome Cristiano to your new home AlNassrFC.”
The Saudi club quoted Ronaldo as saying he is “eager to experience a new football league in a different country.”
In a photo accompanying the news, Cristiano can be seen holding up a jersey with his name and number – 7 – on it.
The deal stands to be incredibly lucrative for the professional athlete. CBS Sports reported that he’d be taking home $75 million a year. The Hollywood Reporter put that number at upwards of $200 million.
Either way, ESPN reported that he’ll be the best paid player in the league.
“I am excited to experience a new football league in a different country,” Cristiano said about the opportunity in a statement shared with the outlet.
“I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football and feel now that this is the right moment to share my experience in Asia. I am looking forward to joining my new teammates and together with them help the Club to achieve success,” he added.
The 37-year old Portugal team captain is a free agent after leaving major British club Manchester United following a dramatic fallout with some of its management.
The news of Ronaldo’s signing Friday follows months of rumors and speculation as to whether he would join a Saudi team, as more than one had made sizeable offers in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the summer, Ronaldo turned down an offer from a different Saudi club, Al Hilal, which would have given him a roughly $370 million contract over a number of years. A the time, he chose to stay at Manchester United, saying he was happy there.
Saudi clubs are known for their ability to offer foreign players large paychecks, particularly as the oil-rich and conservative kingdom builds up its sports, entertainment and other industries to attract tourism, talent and investment that will help diversify its economy. Saudi Arabia has made a bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Ronaldo is the highest goal-scorer in the history of professional soccer, with a total of 819 career goals scored as of the end of 2022. He scored a whopping 450 goals for Spanish team Real Madrid, 145 goals in 346 games for Manchester United, 118 for the Portuguese national team, and 101 for Italian club Juventus.
Ronaldo played in his last World Cup during the Qatar 2022 tournament, setting a new record as the first man to score in five different FIFA World Cups when he made the winning goal against Ghana. The Portuguese team was later knocked out of the tournament by Morocco.
