SHOWBIZ BEAT MEDIA

Portuguese national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo transfers to Middle East as an independent player and gets snapped up by Saudi Professional League Club Al Nassr instantly.

Dylan Martinez / Reuters

The five time FIFA Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) winner’s lucrative contract at Manchester United has been discontinued two months ago via mutual consent, and the 37-year-old will be joining Al Nassr that wilk make him richer by £173 million ($209m) annually for two years. He will be playing for them for two and a half seasons, or until the summer of 2025.

Arriyadiyah, a Saudi news outlet, has reported that Ronaldo’s arrival will be Monday evening at Riyadh, the country’s capital, via a private jet from Madrid. He will be accompanied by the president of Al Nassr, Mosli Al Muammar.

The football star will first undergo a series of medical examinations prior to being formally introduced at an extravagant ceremony to be held at Al-Nassr’s home stadium, Mrsool Park. He had his first medical examination in the Spanish Capital, Madrid, and he passed.

Reportedly, Ronaldo was absent from Al-Nasr’s first two matches as part of his suspension penalty for breaking the phone of an Everton fan last April. This is in accordance with Article 12 of the player transfer regulations, wherein the punishment will still be implemented when switching teams.

This is the professional player’s first foray outside the European continent. Currently, Al-Nasr team leads the standings of the Saudi League, Roshen. They have scored 26 points while Al-Shabab in seconds place, is not far behind with 25 points.

To compensate for Ronaldo’s loss, some of the talented players being eyed for his position are Marcus Thuram of Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach and France’s national team, as well as Barcelona’s Memphis Depay, Daily Mail reported. 

*Cover Photo/Thumbnail Photo from Reuters taken by Juan Medina