Morgan says Ronaldo is loving it on and off the pitch, revealing texts from pal

PIERS MORGAN has been in touch with Cristiano Ronaldo and revealed that he's "absolutely loving" his time in Saudi Arabia.

It's more than two months since the legend ended his second spell at Manchester United and subsequently joined Al-Nassr.

Piers Morgan said that Cristiano Ronaldo is loving his time in Saudi Arabia

Ronaldo penned a lucrative £173m-a-year contract in the Middle East, making him the highest-paid footballer EVER.

But while things haven't gone to plan on the pitch, Piers confirmed that he's thoroughly enjoying himself.

Asked whether he's happy, Piers told Tatler: "Definitely.

"I've swapped a few texts with him, and he's absolutely loving it, on and off the pitch."

Despite Piers' comments, Ronaldo has endured a testing start for his new club.

He did score twice in a friendly against Lionel Messi's PSG earlier this month, but he's still waiting for his first Al-Nassr goal.

And after failing to net on his debut last Sunday, Ronaldo then drew a blank four days later as Al-Nassr crashed out of Saudi Super Cup in the semi-finals to Nuno Espirito Santo's Al-Ittihad.

Ronaldo's next chance to get off the mark will be against Al-Fateh on Friday when Al-Nassr look to maintain their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League.

Piers also went on to reveal that even though he's having a good time in Saudi Arabia, it wasn't his first choice.

He added: "Ideally, I think he'd have preferred to play for another top club in the Champions League for a year or two.

"But Al Nassr made him a staggering offer, and I think the fresh challenge of raising the profile of football in a new region of the world, at the twilight of his incredible career, really appealed to him."

Piers Morgan revealed Cristiano Ronaldo contacted him to tell him that he is loving life in Saudi Arabia since making the move to Al-Nassr earlier this month.

Following weeks of speculation after his acrimonious departure from Manchester United, Ronaldo opted to sign with the Saudi Pro League club, becoming the highest paid player of all time in the process, earning an eye-watering £175m-a-year.

Despite accusations that a move to the middle east represented the end of his illustrious career at the highest levels of the game, Morgan revealed the former Real Madrid star had contacted him via text message to remark on how much he is enjoying his latest move.

'Is he happy? Definitely,’ Piers told Tatler. ‘I’ve swapped a few texts with him, and he’s absolutely loving it, on and off the pitch.’

After appearing to be destined to leave Old Trafford this summer, Ronaldo ultimately remained at United for the start of the current Premier League campaign.

The 37-year-old ultimately found himself relegated to a squad role within Erik ten Hag's rejuvenated squad, with tensions between the star and his new manager reaching boiling point when Ronaldo refused to appear as a late substitute as the team looked to consolidate victory against Spurs in October.

The following month Ronaldo make a number of incendiary comments in a TV interview with Morgan, alleging that he felt betrayed by the club with which he had enjoyed so much success during his ascent to superstardom and alleging the Dutch boss did not respect him.

Ronaldo's comments proved so controversial that the club eventually agreed to a mutual termination of his contract, that resulted in the three-time Premier League winner captaining his country at the 2022 World Cup as a free agent.

However, Morgan argued that the backlash from the now infamous interview had not proven detrimental to Ronaldo's career.

'Thanks to the fall-out from our interview, Ronaldo signed the biggest transfer deal in football history, and is now the world’s highest-paid athlete, at the age of 37.

'He’s also doing what he’s done throughout his career, and which for me gives him the edge over Messi, and that’s challenge himself in a new country, and new league, at a time when football in the Middle East is really taking off, as we saw at the Qatar World Cup where Morocco reached the semi-finals and Saudi Arabia beat the eventual winners, Messi’s Argentina.

'He wanted freedom from Manchester United, where he rightly felt he had been badly disrespected by both the manager and senior club executives.

'Ideally, I think he’d have preferred to play for another top club in the Champions League for a year or two, but Al Nassr made him a staggering offer, and I think the fresh challenge of raising the profile of football in a new region of the world, at the twilight of his incredible career, really appealed to him.'