Cristiano Ronaldo’s final destination?

CRISTIANO Ronaldo is joining Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr, signing a two and half year contract which likely will be his last. 

The club and Ronaldo jointly posted a message by the club saying: “This is more than history in the making. 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,”. 

Reports estimate Ronaldo to earn 200 million euros (Php 11.9 billion) per season which includes endorsement deals. 

The beginning of the end

Ronaldo has been without a club since his acrimonious departure from Manchester United where he developed into one of the best players in the world. 

(He has scored 819 goals in his career: 450 for Real Madrid, 145 for Man United, 118 for Portugal, 101 for Juventus and 5 for Sporting CP) 

He came back expecting to stay in the club where he truly became a global star and end a stellar career in England. But it was not meant to be. 

After seeing three coaches take over the Manchester club in a season and a half, it all came to head when former Ajax manager, Eric Ten Hag came into the picture. 

He was relegated to the bench as the new manager had different ideas moving forward which includes using certain younger talented players for the starting line up. He’s seen a disgruntled figure on the bench in his last few games before the World Cup. 

Ronaldo at one point earned the ire of fans for leaving a game early after getting substituted. The straw that broke the camel’s back is when he joined Piers Morgan in a no-holds-barred interview.  

Telling millions of viewers that he felt betrayed by the club and he didn’t have any respect for the coach. He was released by the club while with Portugal in the World Cup. 

Portugal eventually lost in the quarter finals versus Morocco ending his final appearance on the big stage quietly. 

His joining the Saudi Club is probably the final call to an exceptional career. Cristiano is still considered as one of the top four greatest players to have played the game alongside Maradona, Pele and Messi.