Cristiano Ronaldo ‘to team up with long-time rival Messi as he becomes Saudi Arabia ambassador’ after joining Al-Nassr
CRISTIANO RONALDO will try and help Saudi Arabia land the 2030 World Cup with an ambassador role after joining Al-Nassr, reports say.
The legendary 37-year-old joined the Saudi side on a free transfer on Friday after giving up on his dream of continuing to play Champions League football.
ReutersRonaldo will try and help Saudi land the 2030 World Cup[/caption]
Ronaldo had his contract ripped up by Manchester United following his bombshell interview with SunSport columnist and TalkTV main man Piers Morgan.
In that sit-down chat, Ronaldo accused Man Utd of betrayal, while also revealing he did not respect manager Erik ten Hag.
United released Ronaldo on the eve of Portugal’s World Cup campaign.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner then endured a torrid tournament, scoring just once, and was dropped for Portugal’s knockout campaign, which ended in the quarters at the hands of dark horses Morocco.
Ronaldo will earn an eye-watering £173million-a-year in the Middle East on a two-year contract.
But the 819 career-goal forward will stay on for a further five years as an ambassador for Saudi football.
That means Ronaldo would pocket as much as £1.2BILLION over the course of the contract.
And according to Marca, part of Ronaldo’s ambassadorial role will see him try and help Saudi land the 2030 World Cup in a joint bid with Greece and Egypt.
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Should such a bid be successful, it would see three continents host the major tournament.
It will also see Ronaldo team up with long-time rival, Lionel Messi, in promoting the Gulf state.
Despite backlash, Messi signed a lucrative deal with the Kingdom in May.
And the Argentina captain even lost to Saudi in the group stages of the World Cup, a tournament they later went on to win.
Saudi have faced fierce criticism for its human rights record, as well as crackdowns on women’s rights activists, LGBTQ+ people and those who speak out against the rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Qatar faced similar criticisms before the November-December tournament.
