Cristiano Ronaldo has rejected a mammoth offer which would have seen him top Lionel Messi as the world’s highest-paid footballer, claim reports.
The stunning proposal, which would have seen him earn a whopping £2m a week, was made by Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal. Reports in Ronaldo’s native Portugal claimed Al-Hilal offered the 37-year-old a two-year deal that would have paid him a stunning £209.5m over the course of the contract.
Marca claim to have corroborated the story which would have seen Ronaldo improve on his £25.5m-a-year-deal at Manchester United. But the former Juventus star turned his back on the offer and now looks set to remain with United, at least until January.
The Saudi Arabian transfer window remains open until September 17 and the country’s Football Federation president was keen on a deal.
Yasser Al-Misehal told The Athletic this week: “We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league.
“It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I’m sure everyone knows the achievements and records of Cristiano Ronaldo. But also as a player who is a great role model.
“I think, ‘Why not?’. I’m sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course. But we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years. We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi league.
“I like Cristiano Ronaldo as a player and I would like to see him play in Saudi Arabia.”
Ronaldo was intent on leaving Old Trafford this summer in pursuit of Champions League football. But his agent Jorge Mendes could not find a suitable deal for the forward.
Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund all turned their backs on a move for the player.
Ronaldo and the rest of he squad are believed to have seen their pay hit by a 25 per cent following the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Door opens for Ronaldo?
CBS Sports report Ronaldo is not convinced by Erik ten Hag’s tactics or methods. And the player claimed the “truth” would come out in an interview with him. But that has yet to happen after Ronaldo failed to engineer a move out of the club.
Ten Hag has always publicly maintained that Ronaldo is not for sale. But after missing the pre-season tour and leaving Old Trafford at half-time in the pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano, the future looked bleak.
Ronaldo has been used sparingly by Ten Hag. He has only made two starts this season and only once has he started in the Premier League. Marcus Rashford has been the man to spearhead Ten Hag’s attack to date. However, an injury to the England man could leave the door open for Ronaldo to return to the line-up.
Rashford is not expected to be sidelined for long, but he is set for a spell on the sidelines.
Ronaldo is expected to line-up in the Europa League against Sheriff. But all eyes will be on the Manchester derby next month to see if Ronaldo makes the starting XI.