Cristiano Ronaldo the Portuguese striker, who recently quit his team Manchester United in an interview with Piers Morgan, is now with a new team. He has signed a 2-and-a-half-year contract with Al Nassr. Al Nassr is a club in the Saudi Pro League and they are currently in first place. Now, in theory, a person would ask, why would a player of his talent and caliber go to the Saudi League? Simple, money. He will be making $200 million dollars a year, shattering the previous record in sports with Messi at 168.4 million a year with FC Barcelona back in 2017.

Why this is not the right move for Ronaldo:

Many people don’t believe this was the best next step for Ronaldo, mostly because Saudi Arabia is known for sports washing, but there are many other reasons. For starters, there’s a massive difference between the Premier League level of talent and the Saudi Pro League. You have stars like Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, and Gabriel Jesus; compared to the Saudi Pro League where many former stars go for one last paycheck and the ability to continue playing.  Even with this considered, many of the Saudi Pro League players are not recognizable. Al Nassr has some good players with the likes of 29-year-old Brazilian center forward Anderson Talisca and 30-year-old Cameroonian striker Vincent Aboubakar, but they aren’t upper echelon. There’s also a striker battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Aboubakar which Ronaldo will most likely win because more people recognize him. He also decided to play here, instead of the MLS where yes there’s a little less money, but there’s a way better talent group and passionate fanbase. Even Sporting Kansas City threw their hat into the ring and he chose the other team.

Why this is the right move for Ronaldo:

As much as many have judged this deal for Cristiano, it’s still very good for him and his ungodly wealth. He’s making 200 million dollars a season which is the highest salary a player has been offered per season. Second, he’s already set a ton of records, won a lot of trophies, and even according to him, his work is done in Europe. He might as well take in a ton of money just to play football for 2 more seasons, and if that Newcastle clause is implemented he could play European football again. He is still one of the best talents on Earth but some things end faster than we think.

Saudi Arabia’s plan with Ronaldo:

After the deal with Ronaldo, it looks like Saudi Arabia is gearing toward using Ronaldo on their quest for hosting the World Cup in 2030. He would boost ambitions and reasons why to host the World Cup. He would be an ambassador for the country in this effort. The country has been trying to do this in their quest to build up their country and economy so more people would have an interest in them. Now, Ronaldo would be their cherry on top.