The main transfer saga of 2022 has come to an end – Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nasr. This was reported by the authoritative agency Al Arabiya.
According to a source, the 37-year-old striker signed a 2.5-year employment contract. According to media reports, the Portuguese will earn €200 million in one season.
Why was Ronaldo left without a stick?
Cristiano joined Al-Nasr as a free agent. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was clubless before the start of the World Cup in Qatar after Ronaldo’s former employer, Manchester United, announced that he had prematurely terminated his employment contract due to tarnishing the club’s reputation.
The official reason for this decision was an interview with British TV reporter Piers Morgan, in which he expressed his dissatisfaction with the work of the coaching team headed by Dutch expert Erik ten Hag, and also expressed his dissatisfaction with the chosen leadership. club.
“I don’t know what’s going on but since Sir Alex Ferguson left I don’t see any improvement at the club, zero progress. Nothing has changed in the club. It’s the same pool, jacuzzi, gym, even kitchen equipment.
They are frozen in time. When I returned I thought I would see some changes, updated infrastructure. But unfortunately everything turned out just like in those days when I was 20.
I don’t respect the Ten Witches because she doesn’t respect me. “If you don’t respect me, I will never respect you,” Ronaldo said.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo
Reuters
The Ten Hag himself replied to his words:
“After the interview, I think it was pretty clear that he had to go. I guess we shouldn’t have discussed that. Everything was very clear.
I’ve seen most of the interview. I had to do this. It’s part of my job. I went when the UEFA coaches congress came out.
From day one until today, I wanted Ronaldo to stay. But he wanted to go, that was obvious. If a player does not want to be in a club, he has to leave.
The club cannot miss an interview like this. In taking this step, he knew the consequences. He has never told me about his desire to leave before,” the Manchester Evening News quotes an expert.
Failure at the 2022 World Cup
Ronaldo came to his fifth World Cup without a stick, and the negative past around the national team leader worsened morale. “Manchester United” midfielder Bruno Fernandes, for example, met his wife at the hotel before the start of the World Cup, completely emotionless.
The World Cup started successfully for Ronaldo – he managed to turn a penalty in his match against Ghana and became the first player in history to stand out in five world championships.
This goal remained the only goal in the 2022 World Cup for Cristiano. Then his game went downhill. In the match against Uruguay, Ronaldo tried to steal a goal from Bruno Fernandes and proved to the International Football Federation (FIFA) that he touched the ball flying into Fernando Muslera’s goal with the tip of his hair.
In the match played against South Korea, Ronaldo appeared at the start, but could not prove himself. Starting the 1/8 final match against Switzerland from the bench, Cristiano watched his replacement Goncalo Ramos make a hat-trick and carry his team to the quarter-finals.
For Ronaldo, the match against Morocco to reach the semi-finals started from the 51st minute – for almost half of the playing time, Portugal was unable to save the team from relegation and created only one half-moment in the allotted time.
The defeat with a score of at least 0:1 was most likely the last of Ronaldo’s career at the World Championships – by the time the 2026 World Cup begins, Ronaldo will already be 41 years old.
But nothing can stop Portugal from returning from Saudi Arabia to European football. Judging by the talent of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who returned to Milan after leaving LA Galaxy and took the Scudetto, Ronaldo has every chance to repeat the success of the Swede.
Ronaldo’s future in the national team depends on the personality of the new coach. Currently, the position of head coach of the Portuguese national team is vacant, so it is too early to talk about the hopes of newcomer Al-Nasr in 2023 to enter the field in his national team’s t-shirt.
Source: Gazeta
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.