Cristiano Ronaldo has completed a blockbuster free transfer to Saudi club Al Nassr, joining on a world record salary for the next two-and-a-half years.
The move comes after reaching an agreement with Manchester United to mutually terminate his contract in November.
Despite assertions that he’s had offers from European clubs, Ronaldo will begin a new journey in Asian football in 2023.
But this will not be his first excursion to Saudi Arabia, and he has in fact played a competitive match at the home of Al Nassr before.
In his only previous visit to the 25,000-capacity Mrsool Park back in December 2019, Ronaldo’s Juventus side fell to Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana.
Luis Alberto opened the scoring in the first half at the end of an early spell of Lazio dominance, before Paulo Dybala equalised with a simple tap-in after Thomas Strakosha spilled Ronaldo’s effort from distance.
Senad Lulic put Lazio back in front in the final 20 minutes with a well-taken volley, and Danilo Cataldi sealed the trophy with a free-kick which rattled in off the underside of the crossbar in stoppage time.
Rodrigo Bentancur, now of Tottenham, was sent off following two bookable offences late in the day in Riyadh.
This match proved to be the tenth time in Ronaldo’s career in which he lost a final – his current record stands at 27 wins and 11 defeats.