LONDON: Unwanted by Europe's
elite clubs, Cristiano Ronaldo's steep decline has been laid bare by a move to
Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr that signals the end of his reign as one of football's
most feared strikers.
Ronaldo will be officially unveiled by Al Nassr on Tuesday after agreeing to a contract that runs until 2025 and is reportedly worth more than 200 million euros.
But the riches and fanfare that
await the 37-year-old in Saudi Arabia are at odds with his reduced status as a
fallen star trading on past heroics.
For Ronaldo to be forced to play out what will surely be the final chapter of his glittering career in the football backwater of Saudi Arabia is a damning indictment of his lacklustre form over the last 18 months.
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or
winner, heads to the Gulf after a painful year that saw him relegated to the
Portugal bench and cut adrift by Manchester United.
His second spell with United
imploded in November with his departure by mutual consent, shortly after he
criticised boss Erik ten Hag and the club's hierarchy in an explosive
television interview.
As his relationship with United
soured, Ronaldo was linked to a string of Champions League contenders including
Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Napoli.
A return to his first club
Sporting Lisbon was also rumoured, while there was talk of a move to the MLS to
join Inter Miami, part-owned by former United team mate David Beckham.
But none of those deals came to
fruition and when United decided his diminishing contribution, coupled with his
public displays of dissent, made him a pricey luxury they no longer needed, it
was instructive to note the absence of a rush to sign the ageing icon.
Coming at the same time as his
acrimonious United exit, Ronaldo's failed quest to finally win the World Cup
underlined his descent to the ranks of football's mere mortals.
Tears in Qatar
In a move that would have been
unthinkable just a few years ago, Ronaldo was left out of the starting line-up
for Portugal's last 16 thrashing of Switzerland.
And when Portugal suffered a
shock 1-0 defeat against Morocco in the quarter-finals, Ronaldo started on the
bench, made little impact after his eventual introduction and was last seen
trudging down the tunnel in tears after the final whistle.
There was a sting in the World Cup tale for Ronaldo as it was his old sparring partner Lionel Messi who got his hands on the trophy for the first time instead.
The sight of Messi lifting the
World Cup after Argentina's final victory over France in Qatar will have pained
Ronaldo given their long-standing rivalry.
Few would question Ronaldo's
right to be regarded as one of the all-time greats after winning five Champions
League crowns and a combined seven domestic league titles with United, Juventus
and Real Madrid.
He is also the record goal-scorer
in the Champions League and with the Portuguese national team, who won the 2016
European Championship — Ronaldo lasted less than half an hour before going off
injured in the final against France.
But Messi's triumph with
Argentina vaulted him into the ranks of football's immortals alongside Pele and
Diego Maradona, a rarefied air that Ronaldo will never sample without a World
Cup victory on his CV.
Ronaldo's decision to accept the
lucrative deal offered in the Middle East rather than play on for a lesser
European team made it clear he knows his diminished place in the football
hierarchy.
Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and
Mohamed Salah are the new global stars stepping into Ronaldo's boots.
Al Nassr hailed Ronaldo's signing
by claiming the "history making" deal would "inspire future
generations" to be the best version of themselves.
But for the millions who have been captivated by Ronaldo over the last two decades, this version of the superstar is very far from his best.
