The Saudi Pro League gathered a lot of attention with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo after his uncordial exit from Manchester United. The players like Karim Benzema, Ruben Neves and Hakim Ziyech have followed in the Portuguese captain’s footsteps. With every passing day, the rumours about European players making their trip to the Gulf nation are heating up.
With the departure of one of the best defensive-minded midfielders of the generation, Sergio Busquets, FC Barcelona had their sights on the Champions League finalist Marcelo Brozovic. Well, several reports suggest the Croatian midfielder has snubbed the chance to join the Catalan club and is all set to shake hands with Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
Brozovic set to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr
With the likes of Roberto Firmino and Edouard Mendy joining the Saudi clubs in the past few weeks, it seems as though the Croatian will be soon following them. The 30-year-old midfielder helped his team reach the Champions League finals where they lost against the formidable Manchester City team. Brozovic played a total of 28 matches in the Serie-A last season and scored 3 goals and provided 5 assists. Despite genuine interest from several European clubs not more so than FC Barcelona, Brozovic has decided to move to Saudi Arabia.
Barça president Laporta: “Brozović has an offer from the Saudi League and we will not enter to compete with that”, told @OnzeTv3. ⛔️🇭🇷 #FCB pic.twitter.com/EzqXCVuHiJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 29, 2023
Weeks after losing in the Nations League finals against Spain on penalties, the Croatian midfielder has set his sights to make his journey towards Saudi Arabia. Renowned football journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Brozovic has reached a verbal agreement to join the Saudi club. The Champions League finalist will earn a total package of approximately $108 million over three years. Romano also mentioned Inter Milan will get $25 million as a transfer fee.
EXCLUSIVE: Marcelo Brozović says yes to Al Nassr proposal, here we go! Verbal agreement reached, waiting to sign all the contracts. 🚨🟡🔵🇸🇦 #AlNassr
Understand he will undergo medical tests on Friday and then final check to the contracts.
Deal will be valid until June 2026. pic.twitter.com/AGgQZRrcIl
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 29, 2023
Croatian midfielder set to earn $37 million per year
Several reports suggested that despite agreeing a fee with Inter Milan the deal was stalled due to the disagreements in the salary offered by Al-Nassr. It seems as though the Croatian commanded the negotiations and was awarded the most lucrative contract of his career. The 30-year-old midfielder has said his goodbyes to European football and is set to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in Al-Nassr colours.
With such humongous contracts floating around, it is no surprise that Marcelo Brozovic is set to earn more than $37 million per year. Despite signing the Portuguese superstar, Al-Nassr finished second in the Saudi Pro League. The arrival of the defensive-minded midfielder is going the bring stability to their defensive front.
The list of players joining the Saudi Clubs is increasing with every passing day and after the arrival of big-name players like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, the Saudi Pro League is sure to gather a lot of attention for the upcoming season. Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo Brozovic’s Al-Nassr are going to compete against the reigning Saudi champions Al-Ittihad who have bought in the French duo Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante.
