Cristiano Ronaldo signs new ‘£340m a year’ deal with Al Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo has declared “I belong to Saudi Arabia” after signing a two-year contract extension to play for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League until 2027.The size of Ronaldo’s new contract has not been disclosed, although the value has been put as high as £340 million annually.The 40-year-old said that he received offers from clubs to play on a short-term basis at the Fifa Club World Cup in the United States – currently at its knockout stage – but declined to do so in order to be fresh for the World Cup finals at the end of next season.He did not mention any plans to retire, instead saying that he would “never” be a manager. He did say that he would continue to work with Saudi Arabia, helping to change perceptions of the country, and praised its leader, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin-Salman, for the transformation he had wrought since consolidating power in 2017.In his first interview since agreeing the deal, Ronaldo endorsed the entire Bin-Salman nation-building project – beyond the kingdom’s massive investment in sport – and praised what he said was its progress in “business and entertainment”.“Coming here two years ago and now people look at Saudi with different eyes,” Ronaldo said in the interview by Al-Nassr’s in-house media team. “I feel happy because I helped with that. Of course, I have to mention the highness, the crown prince. He does an amazing job and he is the most important person in changing the country. So we have to appreciate him and his people around him that do amazing work… you should be proud of your country because you have an amazing country and the future will be bright because things are growing so fast. You don’t only speak, you work and this is the most important thing.”He added: “I am not coming only to play football. I play for the change of the country and cultural… I am part of that process so, as I say, I belong to Saudi Arabia. I am Portuguese but I belong to Saudi Arabia.”Ronaldo originally joined Al-Nassr after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following a breakdown in his relationship with then Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag. Al-Nassr are yet to win the Saudi Pro League since he joined and Ronaldo pledged more than once that he would win “something important” with the club. They finished third last season, 13 points behind champions Al-Ittihad. Ronaldo has been the league’s top scorer for his two full seasons.He was asked whether his son Cristiano Junior, 14, who currently represents Portugal at Under-15s level, might also be a professional in Saudi come the start of the 2034 men’s World Cup, which will be held in the kingdom. Ronaldo said that anything was possible.‘Saudi league is in world’s top five’He also doubled down on his belief that the Pro League was now among the top five most competitive in the world. Manchester City face Saudi side Al-Hilal in the last 16 of the Club World Cup on Monday in Orlando – the team being the only Asian side to emerge from the group stages.“Only the people who never played in Saudi [criticise the league],” Ronaldo said. “They don’t understand nothing [sic] about football and say this league is not in the top five. I believe 100 per cent in my words and the people who play in this league, they know what I am talking about.“So this is why I want to stay because I believe in the project. Not the next two years but until 2034 which is the goal and will be the World Cup in Saudi Arabia. And I believe will be the most beautiful one ever.”Asked specifically whether he might invest in Saudi, Ronaldo’s answer was non-committal. “I am not a regular person to be honest. I am thinking different than [other] players. I don’t say I am better but I think different.“To be a coach? I can tell you right now I am never going to be a coach. ‘Never’ is a strong word but it has never been in my plans, in five years, 10, 20. Life is a box of surprises. Projects to be part of the growth of the country [Saudi], to be on the side of the country, for sure I will be.”