Ronaldo 'got what he wanted' with Man Utd exit

Ben Jacobs

• 9 Dec 2022 19:28 GMT
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo got what he wanted with his Manchester United exit, however it still may not help him find a club in Europe, writes CBS reporter Ben Jacobs.

Ronaldo played out his future exactly how he wanted it to transpire, which was to do the interview with Piers Morgan and make it sensational enough – or honest enough from his perspective – to get his contract terminated.

The fact that it was done so quickly, despite lawyers being involved, tells you that Ronaldo was always prepared to walk away from Manchester United if it was by mutual consent without any compensation.

That made him a free agent and he is therefore able to plan behind the scenes to try and receive offers so he can assess his options after the World Cup.

Ronaldo is fully focused on the World Cup but his agent, Jorge Mendes, is focused on finding him a new club.

Currently there is only one offer on the table and that comes from Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, which is an intriguing package that covers Ronaldo as a footballer and beyond, that’s why the monetary amount of the deal is so high, it’s approximately £180 million per season, times 2.5, until 2025.

The deal is interesting, not only due to the high figures but the breakdown of the finances, £60m is base salary for football reasons and the rest is endorsements and sponsorship deals and the sale of his image rights for Saudi Arabia to use for their sports strategy, which could include a potential 2030 World Cup bid.

Al Nassr came to Ronaldo during the summer and he didn’t say no to them, but he said the timing wasn’t right because he wanted to play in an elite level team and league until the World Cup to be as fresh as possible.

The offer is not just about Al-Nassr, it’s a pitch from the country to get him playing in the Saudi league and then transition him into ambassadorial and commercial duties. That is why the money is so extortionately high.

Al-Nassr or nothing for Ronaldo

Ronaldo post-World Cup will assess his future in a number of ways, If Portugal win the World cup, that could change his line of thinking, because it’s a great way to bow out at elite level and take on a new club in a different capacity.

As things stand, contrary to reports in Spain, Ronaldo has not agreed to anything verbally or formally but he has indicated that the terms of the deal suit him but not if the actual proposition suits him.

He will still try and put himself in the shop window at the World Cup before taking his time to look at offers in case more teams come in. If there are, the Al-Nassr deal is still on the table and there are exit clauses which could allow him to leave after half a season.

They are going to be very patient with Ronaldo they're quite prepared to fund him and allow him to play into his 40s or keep that affiliation and stop playing and take the money through other channels.

Otherwise, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, they all are not interested and have not made any attempts to sign Ronaldo, meaning Al-Nassr is the only offer on the table as it stands.