According to Dailymail, Christiano Ronaldo immediately became the highest-earning player at Manchester United and the Premier League when he re-joined the club in 2021. At the time, he was on £500,000 per week. His arrival at Manchester United was an extreme delight for many at the club, but the same cannot be said about his departure.
Ronaldo left Manchester United for Al Nassr, where he now made a record for the highest-paid athlete in football history. Did he make this move for the money? Well, according to a former Manchester United player, he did.
Odion Ighalo accuses Cristiano Ronaldo of joining Al-Nassr for money
Football fans and pundits were divided in their opinions when the 5-time Ballon D’or winner made his record move to Al Nassir. The Saudi Pro League, particularly Al Nassir, had not gained the recognition they now have. Many fans encouraged Ronaldo to join Al Nassr because they thought he was being treated unfairly at Manchester United.
Following his move to Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo was set to earn a whopping salary of £175m per year. The 38-year-old easily surpassed long rivals like Lionel Messi and NBA stars like Lebron James and Steph Curry to become the highest-paid football player on the planet.
“When you are young, yes, you play for passion. Back then, you don’t care about money. But at my age, I am in the final stretch of my career. I don’t know if it will be one or two years or when God will tell it to stop,” he told in a recent interview.
He further went on, “Is Ronaldo still playing out of passion? Ronaldo has earned 100 times more than I have in my entire life, yet he went to Saudi Arabia. Did he do that out of passion? It’s for money, bro.”
Odion Ighalo completed his move to Al Shabab in 2021 and later to Al Hilal in 2022, where he is clearly enjoying the wealth of football. Ighado recently gave an insight into the Al Hilal team’s exquisite travels. According to the 34-year-old Nigerian, the team travels in the Boeing 747-400 plane, which costs a reported $220 million (£173m).
Cristiano Ronaldo signs $200 million-per-year deal with Al-Nassr
Reports show that Christiano Ronaldo has signed a contract with Al Nassr FC that sees him earning $75 million per year for his on-field services. This earning has the potential to grow into $270 million through commercial deals with the club.
The 38-year-old 5-time Ballon d’Or winner would be paid a whopping salary of $207 million. This is a huge improvement from his £175m salary per year upon joining the club, and this will definitely keep him at the club for at least a year longer.
