Cristiano Ronaldo is officially no longer a free agent.
The 37-year-old Portuguese football icon has been unveiled as the latest Al-Nassr player, the Saudi Arabian club announced on Friday.
Reports just hours before the official announcement said Al-Nassr wouldn't confirm the move until after Saturday's Saudi Pro League game against Al-Khaleej, but that is no longer the case.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
"History in the making," the club wrote in a statement. "This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves."
The deal is for two-and-a-half years and will expire in June 2025, according to reports. Ronaldo's salary is expected to be around 200 million euros a year, which includes commercial deals. His base salary is around $75 million, CBS Sports reported. It's the largest salary in football history, topping Kylian Mbappe's with Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.
After having his contract mutually terminated by Manchester United in mid-November just before the 2022 FIFA World Cup got underway, Ronaldo hoped to stay in Europe and compete in the UEFA Champions League. However, no top club approached Ronaldo with a serious offer, prompting the Portuguese star to accept Al-Nassr's proposal as the side contends for the Saudi Pro League title.
Sports
Thus far in the 2022-23 campaign, Ronaldo logged just one goal in 10 English Premier League games with the Red Devils, but his fortune didn't change in Qatar. His lone goal in five appearances, the final two coming off the bench, was a penalty kick in the Group H opener against Ghana.
