On the last day of 2022, football fans learned that the talk of Cristiano Ronaldo moving to the Saudi Arabian championship ended with the official signing of the contract. Perhaps the Portuguese really didn’t have solid options in Europe, but still, many perceived the move to the Middle East as the actual transformation of an ambitious football player into a playing “pensioner”.

Fans and experts frankly laugh at the choice of Cristiano.

Tough choice

One of the most titled footballers of our time, Cristiano Ronaldo, accepted the offer of the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nasr. The 37-year-old Portuguese signed a contract for 2.5 years, which will receive about 200 million euros per season. Slightly less than half will be a guaranteed salary, the rest – advertising revenue, which will be provided to him in the Middle East.

For some fans, the news came as a shock. But still, rumors about the possibility of a transfer did not appear yesterday. After Cristiano’s departure from Manchester United with the scandal, top clubs were in no hurry to line up for a star player. At least, there were no such conversations in the public plane.

Photo: © REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

With no real options in Europe, the striker was forced to face a difficult choice. It was possible to end a career, although not on a positive note. Surely there was an option to return under the curtain of the football path to his native Sporting, albeit with a noticeable decrease in salary. The third option is to prefer a “cash” championship outside of Europe, like MLS or one of the national tournaments in the Middle East.

Based on ESPN’s Taylor Twellman, Kansas City was interested in the Portuguese and was willing to offer similar terms to Al-Nasr. But Ronaldo preferred Saudi Arabia.

“I look forward to the opportunity to try myself in a new country, a new league. I am inspired by the vision of the club. I’m glad to join the team, I want to help the club achieve new victories together, ”Al Arabiya quoted Ronaldo as saying.

“A sad ending for Ronaldo”

Virtually no one in the expert community considers Ronaldo’s move to a team from Saudi Arabia as a step forward in his career. The general tone of all statements is that the Portuguese finishes with football, because he does not pull the previous level.

“This is a sad ending for Ronaldo. Cristiano put an end to his career with his interview with Piers Morgan, while Lionel Messi won the World Cup. It’s not the best way to leave,” former Liverpool and England player Jamie Carragher shared his opinion with Sky Sports.

– Ronaldo finally had the courage to understand that he had abruptly passed and would not pull at a high level. He realized that he had to play out, and he is playing out so that he was like a good pension, severance pay – quotes the former football player of the Russian national team Ruslan Nigmatullin Metaratings.

“Obviously, we will see Ronaldo much less often. It seemed to me that he wanted to stay in one of the best leagues in Europe at least until the end of the season and score more goals. It’s a bit sad because this may be the last time we saw Ronaldo play at the highest level,” former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville told Sky Sports.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gary Neville / Photo: © Kiyoshi Ota / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

– He is 37 years old, everything went to this. He is not the first, he is not the last. That kind of money anyway. Why didn’t you find a club in Europe? Not every team could afford the conditions he was counting on, – said ex-player of the Russian national team Andrey Karyaka in an interview with Match TV.

“I think it’s photoshop”

If the experts tried not to be ironic about the football player’s decision to leave for Saudi Arabia, then the fans on social networks did not miss this opportunity. Ronaldo was cited as an example of his eternal rival Lionel Messi, scolded for the fact that Cristiano preferred money to football, and joked about the prospects in Arab realities. And some simply refused to believe their eyes.

I still think it’s photoshop.

– And at this time, Messi wins the World Cup!

“Messi would never do that.

– As a fan of Al-Nasr, I declare: I am against Ronaldo in my team. Firstly, he is old, and secondly, he is already playing out. Thirdly, Messi is better. After all, Cristiano doesn’t have a World Cup.

Photo: © Clive Brunskill / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

It’s called investing in a pension fund successfully.

– The Arabs proved that they do not understand football at all.

“Unfortunately, he chose money over football.

– Has he already learned how to say “this is my penalty” in Arabic?

Perhaps Ronaldo really still has to realize that it’s too early for him to go to play in Saudi Arabia. Then he can use the example of senior comrade Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who returned to Europe after his adventures in North America. There is a possibility that the player will not fade in the Middle East either, because there is still a chance to play at a high level in the national team, which is just two years away from Euro 2024. But even if Cristiano no longer has any serious prospects, he has collected his rich collection of trophies anyway. And who will argue with the fact that after such a successful and long career, he did not deserve a kind of “pension” in the Middle East?