Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo said on Thursday he wanted to “continue” playing in Saudi Arabia despite a mixed season under Al-Nassr colors which ended without any trophies. The five-time Ballon d’Or, who signed at the end of December in the Saudi club, thus seemed to cut short the rumors of recent days of a possible loan to Newcastle, owned by Saudi investors, qualified for the next League of champions.
“I’m happy here, I want to continue here and I will continue here,” Ronaldo said in an interview with the Saudi Pro League, the kingdom’s professional football league. “I think if they keep doing the job they want to do here, the Saudi league can be one of the top five in the world in five years,” he continued.
Two and a half contract
Ronaldo scored 14 goals in 16 appearances in the Saudi league, but the Riyadh club finished second in the standings behind champions Al-Ittihad. At the end of December 2022, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al Nassr for an estimated amount of more than 400 million euros. Since then, the Portuguese star has admitted that certain local practices have surprised him, such as night training sessions during the month of Ramadan.
“In Europe, we train more in the morning, while here we train in the afternoon, or in the evening, and during Ramadan, we train at 10:00 p.m.,” he noted. “It’s strange, but it’s part of an experience, of memories. I like living these moments because you learn from these things.” “I expected to win something this year, but we didn’t, concluded Ronaldo. But next year, I really trust that things will be better.”