Teaser video shows 40-year-old star footballer walking along a beachfront and saying: \u201cAl Nassr forever\u201d
\n riyadh
\nCristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Al Nassr, the club announced on Thursday, following months of speculation over which team he would sign for next season.
\n\u201cCristiano Ronaldo is staying at @AlNassrFC until 2027,\u201d the club wrote in a post on X.
\nMinutes before the official confirmation, the team posted a teaser video, with the 40-year-old Ronaldo walking along a beachfront and saying: \u201cAl Nassr forever\u201d.
\nThe Portuguese superstar arrived in 2023 in the kingdom to play with the club, heralding a rush of players in the latter stages of their careers to the oil-rich country.
\nLast month, Ronaldo posted \u201cThis chapter is over\u201d hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.
\n\u201cRonaldo\u2019s presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia,\u201d a source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football, told AFP last month.
\nThe oil-funded PIF, the sovereign wealth fund behind a number of big-ticket Saudi investments, controls a group of Pro League clubs including Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli.
\nRonaldo\u2019s announcement in May came just months after Brazilian star Neymar ended his injury-plagued 18-month stay in January, after playing just seven times for Al Hilal \u2014 on a reported salary of around $104 million a year.
\nAlthough Ronaldo was the Pro League\u2019s top scorer with 25 goals, he has been unable to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al Nassr, who lost in the Asian Champions League semi-finals last month.
\nLast year, the five-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr, the Riyadh team favoured by a number of Saudi royals.
\nSaudi Arabia has shaken up football by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo\u2019s move in late 2022, and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034.
\nFor the past two years, Saudi football fans could watch the likes of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, with six Ballons d\u2019Or between them, on any given weekend during the football season in the kingdom.
\nHowever, the oil-fuelled Saudi football project has drawn comparisons with the Chinese Super League, which imported players on exorbitant salaries until team owners went bust as the Chinese economy fizzled.
\nBut with Saudi Arabia set to host the 2034 World Cup, and desperate to re-model itself as a tourism and business magnet before global oil demand falls for good, there is probably more to come from the Pro League.
\nRonaldo appeared to trade an end-of-career payday for football obscurity when he first moved to Riyadh\u2019s Al Nassr two years ago in a deal said to be worth $250 million at the time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Teaser video shows 40-year-old star footballer walking along a beachfront and saying: \u201cAl Nassr forever\u201d riyadh Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Al Nassr, the club announced on Thursday, following months of speculation over which team he would sign for next season. \u201cCristiano Ronaldo is staying at @AlNassrFC until 2027,\u201d the club […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-486823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n