What seemed to be a quiet week began with a bombshell: Cristiano Ronaldo refused to play with Al-Nassr on Monday against Al Riyadh. Although his teammates won 1-0 without him, the controversy was far from over.
The reason for his protest was his disagreement with the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Wealth Fund’s recruitment policy, which he claims is detrimental to Al Nassr. This has led to rumors of a possible break with the club, and among CR7’s options, Manchester United has resurfaced, but the Red Devils seem to have made their decision.
Is CR7 returning to United?
Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr in December 2022 after terminating his contract with the Manchester club and signing a deal estimated at more than 200 million per year, making him the highest-paid player in the world. In addition, the Portuguese player renewed his contract with the Saudi club in 2025 until mid-2027, but the story could be different.
The last straw was Karim Benzema’s transfer from Al Ittihad to Al Hilal, which led to his absence from Al Nassr’s recent victory, as the “Knights of Najd” were only able to add Hayder Abdulkareem, an Iraqi midfielder.
“Cristiano believes that PIF [the investment fund] is hindering Al Nassr’s signings to prevent the team from winning the title,” says ‘Record’.
Following CR7’s absence from the match, there are rumors that the Portuguese star could be considering new directions, including a third spell at Manchester United, where he already wore red from 2003-2009 and 2021-2022 and won several titles, including three Premier League titles and a Champions League, which further expanded his trophy cabinet.
However, according to teamTALK, the English club is not considering reuniting with its former star, much less bringing him back this summer:
“Ronaldo, who turns 41 on Thursday, has been linked with a fanciful return to Old Trafford in the Spanish press, amid reports the player is already ‘in talks’ over a move and with the veteran star prepared to ‘take a salary sacrifice’ to secure a third spell with Manchester United… Despite that, however, senior figures at Old Trafford have made it clear to us that a sensational reunion is not under consideration,” the report confirms.
The truth is that the 40-year-old’s contract includes a clause that allows him to leave in June 2026. However, if the Portuguese player was planning to leave Al Nassr, Manchester United will not be among his options.
This refusal comes almost three years after Cristiano’s bitter departure from the club after he strongly criticized the direction the franchise was taking in an interview with Piers Morgan.
However, according to the report, both parties maintain a deep respect for each other, but the club seems to want to focus on giving greater priority to future superstars, rather than overpaying for established names in soccer, such as Cristiano.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether the club will decide to punish the Portuguese player for his absence from the match against Al Riyadh, as his reasons were not due to injury or a technical decision, but rather a personal protest. Despite this, CR7 remains the team’s top scorer with 17 goals this season, but it remains to be seen whether he will return for the key match against Al-Ittihad scheduled for February 6.
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