Ngannou hails 'very inspirational' Ronaldo as they jokingly square up in Riyadh

Francis Ngannou has called Cristiano Ronaldo 'inspirational' as the fighter prepares for life after the UFC by meeting the footballer in Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou, the heavyweight champion of the UFC, was recently released from his contract with the franchise after failing to agree a new deal.

Within the first week of his exit from the promotion, he has travelled out to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to meet up with Ronaldo, who moved to the country after signing a mega new deal with club Al-Nassr.

The pair shared a love-in, both posting pictures of their encounter on Instagram, with the Cameroonian-French fighter hailing Ronaldo as the 'goat', in a continuation of an ongoing dispute about the best footballer around.

Ngannou posted a pic of their meeting on Instagram, with the caption: 'Great talking with the [goat emoji] in Riyadh today. Very inspirational! @cristiano'

Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Portuguese footballer wrote: 'Great to catch up with world champion @francisngannou today!'

Ngannou, 36, responded: 'Great chatting with you and thank you for your kind words. very inspirational!'

After being forced out of Manchester United following disparaging comments about the club, Ronaldo became a free agent, and chose to sign for Al-Nassr.

He missed some matches with a suspension carried over from the Premier League, but after playing for a Saudi League All-Star XI against PSG, he could finally play for Al-Nassr in their trip to Al-Ettifaq on Sunday.

It is not known where Ngannou will turn after his exit from the UFC this week, although he went on record to claim 'undisputed means nothing' after they took away his heavyweight title.

He also said he was still interested in following the UFC, in particular Ciryl Gane's showdown with former light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones on March 4 to see who gets to claim his old title at the heavyweight division.