Five-time Golden Ball winner Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Saudi club Al-Nassr after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, in a transfer that shook the world. The news about his sensational $285 million-a-year move was all over media headlines in the first days of 2023, when it destroyed the dreams of Australian football fans who still believed in the possibility of seeing CR7 in the A-league.
After these reports were published and revealed the enormous sum of money to be paid up to Ronaldo’s bank account, it’s even funnier how could anyone possibly dream about his move Down Under. Whether it was a very bad estimation and uninformed move or a good marketing gig by the A-league Board, the official offer has been submitted to Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes.
The Australian Professional Leagues chief Danny Townsend confirmed the offer in November last year, while Ronaldo still was a Manchester United player.
“Ronaldo said he wasn‘t getting any love and respect at Manchester United but we’ll certainly give him plenty of love and respect in Australia. We might not be able to compete financially with other offers but we can compete in other ways”, said Townsend for Fox Sports.
The offer details were not revealed, nor was the name of the club that would win the jackpot. The aim was just to bring CR7 to Australia, but with less than 10 per cent of the salary he earns now in Saudi Arabia, it was – the mission impossible.
However, some media speculations pointed at Perth Glory as a possible destination, reporting that Ronaldo’s grandparents live in Western Australia. Others named Melbourne Victory as a favourite to get him in their ranks because his friend and former teammate from the Portuguese national team Nani also moved there.
None of these ‘wet’ dreams came to fruition and it’s hard to believe they will. Cristiano is 37 and signed a two-year contract with Al-Nassr. By 2025 it will very likely be too late to get him to play the world game in front of Australians.
CR 7 was born as Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro in Funchal, the capital of the tiny island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. He has climbed up from his hometown’s club Andorinha to become one the biggest names in football and arguably the most popular individual in the online world with over 534 million followers on Instagram as of January 2023. This mind-blowing number makes him the most followed individual on social media in the world.
The Portuguese superstar has also become the wealthiest footballer with a net worth of $450 million dollars.
Ronaldo’s professional career started in Lisbon where he played for Sporting. After emerging through the Lions’ youth academy from 1997 until 2002, he made his first team debut for the club and continued to play in Sporting’s jersey until 2003.
Shortly after the 2002-2003 season ended, he got the call-up from Premier League giants Manchester United. His time at Old Trafford made him become the name on everybody’s lips as he went from being a young prospect to becoming the best player in the world at the age of 23 when he won his first Golden Ball in 2008.
After six years with the Red Devils, Ronaldo opened a new chapter in his career after signing with Spanish giants Real Madrid. He played for Los Blancos for nine years and during that time he has shown the world how he performs at his full potential. It was a decade of ‘outer space’ football in La Liga where Ronaldo regularly played against his greatest rival and FC Barcelona legend Lionel Messi. They both were in the prime of their careers and their ‘eternal’ G.O.A.T battle, helping each other with the rivalry to stay at the top of their game.
CR7 continued his career in Italy where he signed for Juventus in 2018 to take on a new challenge. Ronaldo played in Serie A until 2021 and after 98 appearances for the Turin club, he chose to return to Manchester United at age 36.
Although Manchester United failed to qualify for the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo was able to score 19 league goals making him United’s top goal scorer. He had a good season individually, but the club was not happy with the position that they were in. As a result of this, manager Ralf Rangnick was sacked and replaced by former Ajax head coach Erik Ten Hag.
Ten Hag’s plans and decisions were a lot different to United’s previous coaches which Ronaldo was not expecting. He started to bench Cristiano and give him fewer minutes as the team began delivering good results without him.
With each game, more and more frustration was growing in Ronaldo. Before the World Cup, in an interview with Piers Morgan, he expressed how he felt betrayed by the club and how he wasn’t happy there anymore. Following this interview, United released him before the World Cup.
After returning from Qatar, Ronaldo took a short break and announced that he accepted an offer from Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Nassr until 2025, becoming the best-paid football player ever. Although some fans might say it is embarrassing for someone like Ronaldo to be playing in the Saudi level competition, he believes that he has achieved enough from playing in Europe and most would agree and look forward to seeing him continue to play at a professional level. As long as possible. Maybe in Australia one day? Who knows…