Recall that Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United - one which was supposed to be a seal of his phenomenal masterclass, ended in a disgraceful exit. Amidst the dark clouds created by the mess, Cristiano Ronaldo found some blue sky under Al Nassr's irresistible €175m ($210m) offer; excluding another close-door tempting deal of almost €190m to bolster Saudi Arabia's forthcoming World Cup Bid.
Bet on Al Nassr to win the Saudi Pro League!Was Ronaldo still worth an offer of this magnitude?"
Media critics gossiped...
Before long, their mouths were shut after Al Nassr's media following increased from 860,000 to 10 million in less than a fortnight; making Al Nassr the most-followed Arabian club, topping Al Hilal (with 3.6m followers) in an instant- without even touching the ball!
Even though the World Cup Bid Claim has been flunked by the club, and many say that his move to Al Nassr is a sad ending to his football career, Cristiano (who was almost made a laughing spectacle by Man Utd's Erik Ten Haag administration) has proven to be an invaluable talisman for his new club - Seeing as ties with veteran Vincent Aboubakar was cut off to conveniently accommodate the Portuguese maestro.
The Saudi Pro League side continues to indulge Ronaldo and his family in Arabia, where they are rumored to be housed in a $ 250,000-per-week suite in the Riyadh Four Seasons Hotel.
In other news, rival team Al Hilal, who was under a brief transfer ban, decided to put their best foot forward by approaching the management of Paris Saint Germain for a possible move for eight-time Ballon D'Or winner, Lionel Andrés Cuccittini Messi, even though Cristiano Ronaldo was also on their books before Al Nassr swooped him up. At the moment, Media sources have leaked that Messi's father and Agent, Jorge Horacio Messi, is currently in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia negotiating a nearly €300m deal for the Argentine goal machine, whose Paris Saint Germain deal expires June 2023.
Cristiano's move to Saudi Arabia crushed most football lovers who witnessed the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry that raged for over two football decades. However, Lionel Messi's anticipated move to Al Hilal may reignite the flames of the El Clasico. Leaks from inside the walls of Al Nassr reveal that over two million tickets to the King Fahd Stadium (and counting) have been sold ahead of the friendly game against Paris Saint Germain on January 19. This could be a result of the starved fans who are desperate for a preview of the Ronaldo-Messi Sensation.
Leo Messi's anticipated move to Al Hilal may once again grant fans a taste of the age-old rivalry between the aced duo, seeing how crazed football devotees are to witness the vendetta firsthand. Also, if the €299m deal falls through, Messi would become the highest-paid soccer player on the globe. Al Nassr and Al Hilal have one of the strongest rivalries in the Asian League.
Can you imagine what will happen when Messi moves to Al Hilal and Ronaldo stays at Al Nassr? Yeah, Right.