Cristiano Ronaldo's chief confidant Piers Morgan has revealed talk of the Portuguese's impending move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr is premature.
Speculation has been swirling since Ronaldo's bombshell interview with Morgan regarding his next club after he and Manchester United mutually agreed to tear up the remainder of his two-year deal.
This week it was reported that Ronaldo was on the verge of agreeing a deal with Saudi club Al Nassr - worth an eye-watering £173m a year.
However, Morgan, who appears to speak to the Portuguese regularly, denied suggestions that the move was imminent.
He thinks that if he does well at this World Cup, he’ll get what he really wants,' he told The Telegraph.
'Which is a club in the Champions League that extends his record and his legacy.'
Ronaldo, 37, has so far scored once at this World Cup - a penalty against Ghana. Though he did become the first player in history to score at five World Cup tournaments.
'It’s not about money at this stage of his career. It comes down to a burning desire to play football at the highest level, to break records and win trophies,' he added.
'And he has done that in more countries than any other player in history.'
Ronaldo's bombshell interview - aired just days out from the start of the World Cup in Qatar - briefly shook the football world as the Portuguese took aim at various figures, both past and present, at United.
Having appeared to have been particularly burnt by criticism from former team-mates, namely Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo took aim at the pair, suggesting their criticism stemmed from a place of jealously at his lofted position.
'I think they take advantage of that because they are not stupid,' Ronaldo said. 'I'm the No 1 followed guy in the world. It's not by coincidence.
'Probably (it's jealously). Probably - because he finished his career in his 30s. I'm still playing at a high level; I'm not going to say that I'm looking better than him, which is true.
'It's hard to listen to that sort of criticism and negativity from people who play with you, for example Gary Neville as well.'
Morgan, meanwhile, took aim at those criticising the World Cup in Qatar - pointing towards legislation surrounding homosexuality in the United Kingdom when the tournament was hosted here in 1966 as evidence of hypocrisy.
'It’s selective outrage about Qatar, which is completely overblown,' Morgan said in relation to England's attempts to wear the OneLove armband, which they later dropped after being threatened with 'sanctions' by FIFA.
'The whole thing has been a complete racket. The process of awarding World Cups to Russia and Qatar stank.
'But England was also in the bidding. So it comes back to our moral fitness to host the World Cup. I remind people that when we last hosted the World Cup and won it, it was illegal to be homosexual in the UK. That has to be a reality check about our moral positions against other regions in the world.'
.
N0_N0NsENSE
15
The problem is no 'Champions league club' is aiming for a finished player. 😂😂