Just a few weeks after it was reported that Cristiano Ronaldo could leave Al-Nassr in 2025, it has now been revealed that the Portuguese superstar has signed a new one-year contract extension with the Saudi Pro League club which will keep him in Riyadh at least till 2026.
Ronaldo has not only added one more year to his initial contract which ends after the 2024-25 season, but the 39-year-old forward is also set to earn more than 200 million euros with his latest move, reported Saudi media portal Al Khobar and Portugal’s O Jogo.
Ronaldo joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr in December 2022 from Manchester United on a whopping 200 million euro per year contract, making him the highest-paid footballer in the world. With the new contract extension, Ronaldo is set to remain the highest-paid footballer.
He will be earning 3.8 million euros per week and more than half a million euros per day.
Ronaldo had also earlier refuted the reports that he was interested in leaving Al-Nassr.
“I’m happy and my family is happy. We started a new life in this beautiful country. Life is good, football is good. In terms of individual and collective, we are still there. We are still improving,” Ronaldo said earlier this month.
“It’s hard to compete with teams like Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, but we are still there, still pushing and fighting. Football is like that; you have good moments and bad moments. But, for me, the most important thing is to be professional, to push hard, respect the club, respect your contract and believe that things will change – for Al-Nassr to try to win more titles,” the 39-year-old added.
Even more interesting is the report that Ronaldo has been offered a minority stake in Al-Nassr with his new contract extension, as per Spanish newspaper Marca. This will allow Ronaldo to participate in the club's decision-making process and show Al-Nassr's trust in its star player.
Ronaldo's decision to continue playing in Saudi Arabia when he was speculated to return home for one final stint with his first club, Sporting CP, also shows the player's commitment to keep himself ready for the 2026 World Cup and that he is not thinking about retirement.
Ronaldo has been a big hit at Al-Nassr, scoring 75 goals since joining the club. He has scored 11 goals and made two assists in 13 matches in the ongoing season as Al-Nassr sit third in the Saudi Pro League table with 28 points from 14 matches.
Al-Hillal (40 points from 15 matches) and AL Ittihad (40 points from 15 matches) currently occupy the first and second sports respectively.
Overall, Ronaldo has scored 911 goals at the club and international levels.
2025-01-17T08:30:06Z