Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo receives mega offer to play in Saudi Arabia
According to CNN Portugal (h/t Metro), Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has received a huge proposal to play in Saudi Arabia.
The future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United is now hazy at best. The Portuguese superstar is searching for a way out of Old Trafford after the team was unable to make the Champions League. He has been linked to teams such as Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and AS Roma, but nothing has happened as of yet.
The Portuguese striker has skipped the team’s preseason training in Manchester owing to ‘personal/family issues’ and he also chose not to go on the team’s preseason trip to Thailand.
Even though Ronaldo wants to leave, United are hesitant to sell him. During a news conference in Bangkok, new manager Erik ten Hag stated that the veteran forward is still in his plans for the upcoming campaign.
The fact that Manchester United could now lack another proven goalscorer makes the scenario far from ideal for them, and the longer this transfer issue continues, the harder it will be for them to find a replacement if Ronaldo does in fact depart the club this summer.
Ronaldo has been offered a contract to play in Saudi Arabia that would see Manchester United receive £25 million for the transfer, while CR7 himself would earn €250million (£211m) over two seasons in salary- plus £17million would be handed out to his agent.
It goes without saying that any player in the world, even Ronaldo, would consider this a great offer from a financial standpoint, but it is debatable if he would want to play in Saudi Arabia.
One of the reasons why Ronaldo wants to leave United is that the Red Devils do not offer Champions League play. If he did end up moving to Saudi Arabia, the possibility of UCL football would be entirely eliminated.
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They may be testing the waters first to see whether Ronaldo would be interested in a move, given the Saudi club in question has not been mentioned.
Such news should be taken with a pinch of salt but from what the transfer market has taught us over the decades is that anything is possible. It remains to be seen what decision Ronaldo takes but given his physique and fitness, he can still dominate in Europe before seeking new pastures in another contintent.