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July 5, 2024
Since Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr at the beginning of 2023, the country’s football scene has developed quickly. Many elite players have followed Ronaldo’s footsteps, but the 39-year-old still makes the most money. The Saudi Pro League is a new force in the transfer market.
After his relationship with manager Erik ten Hag soured, Ronaldo rejoined Manchester United in 2021. Still, it appeared as though his career had reached a dead end. At the time, he was 37 years old. Though the five-time Ballon d’Or winner couldn’t refuse the financial boost when the riches of the Middle East called, the figures after a year and a half are astounding.
In the world of football, he is the highest-paid player.
Ronaldo’s Saudi deal has put him in a league of his own, even though he was already among the richest football players in the world before the switch. With a guaranteed football salary of £76 million, he makes an incredible £169 million (200 million euros) a year from Al-Nassr, with additional revenue from sponsorship and commercial deals rounding out his impressive pay package.
Ronaldo’s astounding pay is equivalent to:
With 78 weeks under his belt at Al-Nassr, the former star of Real Madrid and Juventus has made an incredible £253.5 million in total income since joining.
Ronaldo spent his whole playing career in Europe until Al-Nassr was called.
Ronaldo’s legacy in European football is assured. The deft winger graduated from Sporting’s academy in 2002 and was quickly signed by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2003. The explosive forward would eventually form one of the Premier League’s most lethal front lines with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.
At 23, the Madeira-born player had already won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and his first of five Ballons d’Or after defeating Chelsea in the Champions League at the end of the 2007–08 season. This achievement earned him a transfer to Real Madrid for a then-record £80 million a year later.
Real Madrid and Ronaldo became popular right away. In nine years in the Spanish capital, he added four more Champions League medals, two UEFA Super Cups, and three Club World Cups to his glistening trophy cabinet, solidifying his place among the all-time greats. He enjoyed more success in Italy, winning two more league titles with Juventus before returning to Old Trafford in 2021.
There’s no doubt Ronaldo left an enduring impression on European football, even though a second stint at Manchester United is best forgotten by all parties involved. This was especially true after he nearly completed his brilliant set by helping Portugal win the European Championship at Euro 2016. It is not entirely surprising that Ronaldo treated himself to one last big payday in the Middle East, considering how uncommon it was for him to go 20 years without winning a trophy in Europe.
| Competition | Games | Goals | Assists |
| La Liga | 292 | 311 | 95 |
| Premier League | 236 | 103 | 39 |
| Champions League | 183 | 140 | 48 |
| Serie A | 98 | 81 | 17 |
influencing the development of Saudi Arabia’s football scene
After returning to United, Ronaldo fell out of favor and declared he would look for a new challenge when his contract expired in November 2022. It was speculated that Ronaldo might have returned, this time to his boyhood club, Sporting.
Ronaldo, however, found it impossible to resist accepting an ambassadorial post in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia’s government began pursuing football relevance. He has not only continued to score goals for Al-Nassr in large quantities, but he has also been instrumental in forming the young football scene in the region.
Plenty of goals in a growing league
The relationship between Ronaldo and Al-Nassr is going well so far. The prolific striker still works hard to score many goals for his team. He shattered the mark for the most goals scored in one single campaign in the 2023–2024 season by scoring 35 goals in 31 Saudi Pro League games. He also became the first footballer to finish as top scorer in four different leagues, doing so in previous campaigns in the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A.
Ronaldo’s trophy magnetism has not lost any of its appeal. They defeated rivals Al-Hilal 2–1 in extra time in the August 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup final, thanks partly to goals from Ronaldo, who finished the tournament with six goals to guarantee he had won a trophy with every club he had ever played for.
| Games | 64 |
| Goals | 58 |
| Assists | 15 |
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Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and football sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Football News Today, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for football, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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