Tribune News Network
Doha
Saudi Arabian football club Al-Nassr has reached an agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo, beIN SPORTS has confirmed.
According to Spanish media outlet Marca, Ronaldo is set to put pen to paper on a $212 million per season deal (€200 million). He will be joining the club in January after the talks of a deal being 'close' first emerged in November.
The initial deal is expected to be around $105 million but will be beefed up through advertisements and sponsorship deals. If the deal is completed, it will be one of the most lucrative in sports history, rivalling that of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been a free agent ever since having an acrimonious breakup with Manchester United.
37-year-old Ronaldo's tumultuous return to Manchester United came to a close last month after he gave an explosive interview to British journalist Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo took a no-holds-barred approach in the interview and laid it bare how he was treated at Manchester United and how the club had been in a rut for years.
Days after the interview, both parties decided to part ways by a mutual agreement with immediate effect.
“Following conversations with Manchester United we have mutually agreed to end our contract early,” Ronaldo said on his official accounts. “I love Manchester United, and I love the fans, that will never ever change. However, it feels like the right time for me to seek a new challenge.”
While Ronaldo fared relatively well in the last season for the Red Devils, he could not break into Erik Ten Hag's plans as the Dutchman preferred to play a high-pressing game which did not suit the ageing Portuguese.
Since the beginning of the season, news of Ronaldo being unhappy at the club had been making the waves. During United's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, Ronaldo refused to take the pitch and walked off before the final whistle. His last match for United came against Aston Villa where the team suffered a 3-1 defeat under his captaincy.