Shortly after Al Nassr’s 3-2 defeat away to Al Fateh in the final game of the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League, on Monday night, Cristiano Ronaldo posted a cryptic message which seemed to bring the curtain down on his time with the Riyadh club.
‘This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all’ was the brief message heavily implying that his time in Saudi Arabia is over.
The Portuguese striker officially moved to Al Nassr in January 2023 after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal and reportedly bagged more than $210 million per year making it one of the highest football salaries in history.
Despite being top scorer with Al Nassr for the past two seasons, the Riyadh club had a barren spell trophy wise and Cristiano exits with no titles to his name in Saudi.
Next chapter
Speculation now abounds as to where the striker will move to next. He’s part of the Portugal national team that will participate in the UEFA Nations League Final Four next week and rumours are rife that he will use the special FIFA transfer window and may even feature at the expanded 32 team Club World Cup which starts mid June.
Having the Portuguese star play at the first ever 32-team expanded Club World Cup in the United States would deliver a massive boost for FIFA in terms of marketing and publicity with flagging ticket sales prior to the tournament.
FIFA have also opened an ‘exceptional transfer window’ from June 1-10 where teams can make acquisitions ahead of the competition.
For Ronaldo to play in the USA at the Club World Cup an agreement would need be reached with Al Nassr to allow Cristiano to play before June 30th (when his deal officially expires).
CR7 destination?
Initial speculation suggested that Ronaldo may play with one of the Brazilian sides competing at the Club World Cup (Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras or Botafogo), however according to betting specialists Oddspedia, Mexican club C.F. Monterrey are in pole position to land the Portuguese superstar at 3/1 (with a 25% implied probability).
Rayados already have many big names in the current squad with the likes of Sergio Ramos, Oliver Torres, Lucas Ocampos and Sergio Canales all playing for the side from Nuevo Leon.
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