Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, has sent a clear transfer message to Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo amid ongoing doubts over his future.
The veteran Portugal international was the subject of plenty of speculation this summer as he missed a large chunk of Man Utd’s pre-season, with several big clubs linked with a possible move for him.
Still, Ronaldo ended up staying at Old Trafford, and that means speculation will surely go on, though Fabrizio Romano explained in his exclusive CaughtOffside column today that it’s not currently clear if Chelsea are planning to go back in for the 37-year-old.
It seems Ronaldo is very much wanted in Saudi Arabia though, with Al-Misehal telling The Athletic just how much he’d like to see the Red Devils superstar join one of the clubs in their league.
“We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league,” he told The Athletic. “It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I’m sure everyone knows the achievements and records of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also as a player who is a great role model.
“I think, ‘Why not?’. I’m sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course, but we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years. We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi league.
“I like Cristiano Ronaldo as a player and I would like to see him play in Saudi Arabia.”
He added: “It wouldn’t be an easy transaction for a Saudi club or even for him, but we would love to see him or even some other top players of the same level.”
It remains to be seen if Ronaldo would be ready to leave Europe at this stage in his career, or if he still fancies himself to be able to make an impact at the very highest level.
MUFC fans would surely love to see this club legend finish his career at Old Trafford, but that perhaps looks increasingly unlikely.
Only looking to attract high profile players to bolster their forthcoming World Cup bid.