Cristiano Ronaldo 'to sign new contract' after awkward transfer tease falls flat

Cristiano Ronaldo is close to extending his contract with Al Nassr despite the forward claiming his "chapter is over" and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino hinting he could be on the move

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to extend his deal with Al Nassr, which will keep him at the Saudi Arabian outfit despite the player himself hinting at a move elsewhere.

It is understood that discussions are ongoing over a new contract that could see the five-time Ballon d'Or play on with Al Nassr for another two years, taking him until 2027. The 40-year-old has been at the Middle Eastern club since January 2023 after leaving Manchester United when his contract was terminated.

Despite being paid fortunes, with his salary in excess of £100million per year, he's been unable to deliver the title. He scored recently as Al Nassr finished their season with a 3-2 defeat by Al-Fateh to leave them with a third place finish in the Saudi Pro League.

His social media activity then hinted at the Portugal icon looking to head elsewhere as he said: "This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all."

Many saw that as a subtle goodbye to Al Nassr, who have endured a relatively poor return in terms of silverware since Ronaldo joined. Nevertheless he's now set to remain, despite FIFA president Gianni Infantino also claiming he could be on the move so that he could play in the Club World Cup recently.

Al Nassr did not qualified for the tournament, with the only Saudi Arabian representation being Al-Hilal, who recently held Real Madrid to a draw and have been their country's dominant force domestically.

Infantino suggested that Ronaldo could put pen to paper with one of the clubs playing at the Club World Cup - albeit that never came to fruiton. “Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup,” he told IShowSpeed, the American YouTuber and online streamer. “There are discussions.”

He added: “Yeah, Cristiano Ronaldo might play in the Club World Cup, yeah. There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup…who knows, who knows.”

Ronaldo has scored 99 times in 111 games for Al Nassr but his individual contributions have not led to team success. It has now been five years since he played in a team that won the league title, which takes him back to his Juventus days. His mammoth financial demands and age profile will also have put off a number of suitors despite Ronaldo insisting he has no plans to retire just yet.