Deal will see Ronaldo play until June 2025

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr in a deal that will see him play until June 2025. The 37-year-old Portugal captain is excited to "experience a new football league in a different country," according to Al Nassr. The club's Twitter account called the signing "history in the making," and said it will inspire "our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves." 

Ronaldo power

Ronaldo is no stranger to making history on the pitch. He 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 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 goals in 346 games for Manchester United, 118 for the Portuguese national team, and 101 for Italian club Juventus. In addition to his soccer achievements, Ronaldo has a massive social media following, with over 525 million Instagram followers alone. He became the first athlete to surpass a combined 500 million followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in 2021.

Ronaldo's salary reportedly around $200 million per year

It's no surprise that Al Nassr was willing to pay big for Ronaldo's services. The club is reportedly offering the soccer star a salary of around $200 million per year, including commercial agreements, which would be the highest salary in the history of football. This is in line with the reputation of Saudi Arabian clubs, which are known for their ability to offer foreign players large paychecks. The country is actively working to attract tourism, talent, and investment in an effort to diversify its economy, and sports, entertainment, and other industries are a key part of this strategy. In fact, Saudi Arabia has even made a bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Al Nassr & Cristiano Ronaldo

Al Nassr, based in Riyadh, was founded in 1955 and has won nine Saudi Premier League titles. It is currently managed by French national Rudi Garcia, who has previously managed top European clubs including Roma, Olympique de Marseille and Lille. 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 scored the winning goal against Ghana. The Portuguese team was later knocked out of the tournament by Morocco.

Al Nassr with Cristiano Ronaldo

With Ronaldo now on board, Al Nassr will be looking to add even more silverware to its trophy cabinet. The club will be hoping that Ronaldo's experience and scoring prowess can help lead them to even greater success on the pitch. And with Ronaldo's massive social media following, the club will also be hoping to tap into the soccer star's huge global appeal to draw more attention and support to the team.