Former Manchester United loanee Odion Ighalo has encouraged Cristiano Ronaldo to join him in Saudi Arabia following the latter's recent exit from Old Trafford.
The 37-year-old, who will be looking to help Portugal reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup when they face Switzerland on Tuesday evening, left United last month, seeing his contract terminated in the aftermath of his explosive sit-down interview with Piers Morgan. In his chat with the former Good Morning Britain presenter, Ronaldo slammed United and heavily criticised manager Erik ten Hag.
It left United with no choice but to look into the idea of offloading Ronaldo, and they did so without much hesitation. The striker is now a free agent and on the hunt for the fifth club of his career.
Speculation about the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's future since his exit from Old Trafford was confirmed has been unsurprisingly rife, with multiple reports last week claiming that he has been offered a big-money deal by Saudi outfit Al Nassr. Ronaldo was offered a deal by another Saudi club back in the summer but turned it down, as he had ambitions of staying in Europe to play in the Champions League.
However, former Reds star Ighalo, who scored five times in 23 games for United, has ambitions of seeing Ronaldo make the switch to Saudi Arabia. Ighalo has been playing his football in the country since February 2021, playing for both Al Shabab and currently Al-Hilal.
"You never can tell, I would love him to do that," Ighalo told The Athletic, addressing how he would like Ronaldo to join him in Saudi Arabia. "I would love for him to come to Saudi because he would boost the league and add more fanbase to the league.
"People who aren't already watching will start to engage with the league and see something they are missing."
Although As Nassr have reportedly made Ronaldo a huge financial offer to try and convince him to join the club, Ighalo believes the former United man will have plenty of factors to consider before deciding on his next move.
Ighalo continued: "Cristiano Ronaldo is hugely ambitious and I think he will want to play in a Champions League team and end his career well, but you never can say. He has a decision to make.
"I wish him all the best in that decision and hopefully he does come to Saudi Arabia. Before I came, I thought the league would be a pushover but now, having played for two seasons, I know it's one of the toughest in the region.
"Al Hilal won the AFC Champions League in 2019 and 2021 and qualified for the Club World Cup. The league is growing faster than I expected.
"More foreign players, coaches and the federation is backing it and you can see that reflected in the Saudi team."