Cristiano Ronaldo Brilliantly Explains Why He Turned Down Lucrative Saudi Arabia Move

Cristiano Ronaldo Brilliantly Explains Why He Turned Down Lucrative Saudi Arabia Move

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:17 PM
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  • Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that he received an astronomical offer from an unnamed club in Saudi Arabia
  • Ronaldo said it was hard to turn down the offer but insisted he was happy at Manchester United at that time
  • The Portugal captain appeared in an explosive interview this week and made astonishing statements

Cristiano Ronaldo has given several reasons why an unprecedented move to Saudi Arabia collapsed this past summer, as he was trying to find a new club.

Ronaldo has been revealing unknown details about the workings inside Manchester United, after the highly publicised fallout with Erik ten Hag last month.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi Arabia, Manchester United, FIFA 2022 World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo will appear in his 5th World Cup in Qatar, but could have played for a club in the Middle East. Photo by David S. Bustamante.
Source: Getty Images

The 37-year-old told Manchester United that he wanted to exit Old Trafford this past summer, but he ended up staying due to a reported lack of offers from top European teams.

Ronaldo has been the talk of the town for the whole of this week, after snippets of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan dropped on Sunday, November 13. In it, he hit out at Man United's owners, his manager, and former teammate Wayne Rooney.

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Ronaldo's Saudi offer

The iconic Portuguese player was the subject of one astronomical offer in Saudi Arabia, a subject he confirmed in the closing parts of the interview.

MEN reports that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner snubbed the massive £305 million contract for just two seasons; if he agreed to the deal, it would have been the most lucrative deal in football history.

He confirmed the story, but hit back at the media for saying no one wants him.

“It’s true, yes it’s true… But what the press keep saying - the garbage - is that nobody wants me, which is completely wrong. I was happy here to be honest; I was motivated to do a great season here," Ronaldo said according to the Mirror.

Ronaldo added that it was not easy turning down a big offer like that, but he was happy in Manchester at the time.

"It's hard, it's hard. But in the same way, I thought that I was very happy here; that I was still capable to score goals."

Portugal could drop Ronaldo

Sports Brief earlier reported on Portugal boss Fernando Santos hinting that he could drop Ronaldo for the World Cup games.

Santos responded to the media to say he was not obligated to play Ronaldo at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The 37-year-old was absent for Portugal on Thursday night, as they triumphed 4-0 in a warm-up game against Nigeria.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.