Cristiano Ronaldo offered €200 million-a-year contract to play in Saudi Arabia: Reports

SINGAPORE: Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly been offered a contract by Saudi side Al-Nassr that will see him netting close to €200 million (US$209 million) a year.

Writing in the Guardian on Wednesday (Nov 30), Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano said that Ronaldo had received a formal proposal from the club for the deal which would run until 2025.

Romano said that a big portion of the money involved would be put up by sponsors, which would mean that image rights "could be a stumbling block" in the move.

While Romano said that nothing had been agreed upon, with Ronaldo focused on the World Cup in Qatar, Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported that the player is "close to putting pen to paper" and "has already given the green light".

Citing unnamed sources, ESPN said that the contract would be worth more than US$119 million a year.

The sources told ESPN that Al-Nassr would be willing to compensate Ronaldo for the wages he would have earned during the last six months of his contract at Manchester United.

Ronaldo and United parted ways by mutual agreement on Nov 22 after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV.

During the interview, he said that the club had betrayed him and that he was being forced out. He also said that he had no respect for United manager Erik ten Hag.

Based in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, Al-Nassr play in the Saudi Pro League, which they last won in the 2018-19 season. They currently sit in second place in the league after eight games.

Portugal will face South Korea in their last group game in Qatar on Friday having already secured a place in the round of 16.