Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi club Al Nassr on a two-and-a-half-year deal, the Riyadh side announced.
Ronaldo’s contract with Al Nassr is valued at over €200 million ($214.5 million) by the media.
The Portuguese striker left Manchester United last month after an explosive TV interview in which the 37-year-old said he felt betrayed by the club and had no respect for Dutch manager Erik ten Hag.
The Portuguese star, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has been free since his second spell at Manchester United, which ended in an acrimonious divorce last month.
Ronaldo has won five Champions League titles (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), league titles in Italy (2019, 2020) with Juventus, in Spain (2012, 2017) with Real Madrid and in England (2007, 2008, 2009) with United.
He is also the top scorer in the Champions League and the Portuguese team with which he won Euro 2016.
But Ronaldo’s time at United ended in bitterness.
Al Nassr posted a photo of Ronaldo holding the team’s shirt on social media on Saturday, with the club describing the deal as “a story in the making”.
“This is a commitment that will not only inspire our club to even greater success, but will also inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls alike, to be the best version of themselves,” the club said in a tweet. .
“I’m lucky to have won everything I set out to do in European football and now I think this is the right time to share my experience in Asia,” said Ronaldo.
“I am really looking forward to joining my new teammates and contributing to the club’s success together with them.”
Al Nassr said the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would sign a contract until 2025, but gave no financial details. Ronaldo’s contract with the team is valued at over €200m ($214.5m) by the media.
Ronaldo is honored with a huge collection of club titles after a glittering spell at Spanish giants Real Madrid from 2009 to 2018, where he won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, four Champions League titles and three Club World Cups in the Saudi Arabia.
He scored a club record 451 times for Real Madrid and scored over 800 goals for club and country combined.
Ronaldo won two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia trophy in three years at Juventus before returning to Manchester United, with whom he won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and the World Cup.
He played for Portugal in Qatar, where he became the first men’s player to score in five World Cups, after scoring a penalty in his team’s first Group H game against Ghana.
Portugal were defeated by Morocco in the quarter-finals and Ronaldo spent a lot of time on the bench, leading to speculation that the footballer’s star status was waning.
Ronaldo said Qatar was likely to be his last World Cup as he plans to retire at the age of 40 and the move to Saudi Arabia was likely to mark the career swan song of one of football’s best current players alongside Lionel Messi.
“This is more than just making history,” said Al Nassr Football Club President Musalli Almuammar. “This is a signing that will spur not only our club to even greater success, but also our league, our nation and generations to come.”
The Saudi Arabian club, who have won nine Saudi Pro Premier League titles, are hoping Ronaldo can help them clinch another domestic league title and their first in the AFC Champions League.
Saudi Arabia won their biggest international victory at last month’s World Cup in Qatar, when they defeated eventual champions Argentina in their first group stage game but failed to reach the last 16 of the tournament.