Al-Nassr have taken to Twitter to confirm that Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract with the club does not contain any kind of clauses relating to Saudi Arabia’s 2030 World Cup bid.
The Saudi outfit posted an update at 1:36am local time that read: “Al Nassr FC would like to clarify that contrary to news reports, Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract with Al Nassr does not entail commitments to any World Cup bids. His main focus is on Al Nassr and to work with his teammates to help the club achieve success.”
This statement is contrary to reports that had emerged allegedly from a source close to the club that claimed Ronaldo would pocket just shy of £300million to promote the Saudi’s 2030 World Cup bid on top of his astronomical salary.
It is important to note that Al-Nassr’s statement does not state how Ronaldo will not take up any kind of ambassadorial role for Saudi Arabia’s World Cup campaign, just that it has nothing to do with the contract he signed with the club.
Ronaldo’s long-term Ballon d’Or rival Lionel Messi is already an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s tourist board tasked with promoting the nation.
The source suggesting it did told AFP: “Ronaldo will be paid more than 200 million euros ($310 million) for the deal, he will be an ambassador for the Saudi World Cup 2030 bid for another 200 million.”
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Ronaldo’s arrival in the Middle East has been greeted with huge excitement, but the 37-year-old is yet to actually make his debut for Al-Nassr.
This is because the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been forced to serve a two-match ban for his conduct while still a Manchester United player.
He was forced to sit out his new side’s 2-0 win over Al-Ta’ee after slapping the hand of young Everton fan Jacob Harding as he stormed down the tunnel at Goodison Park last year, damaging the boy’s phone in the process.
Following an investigation by the FA, he was fined £50,000 and handed a two-game ban on November 23 – just a day after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s contract was terminated by the Red Devils.
Despite the fact that Ronaldo has since moved abroad and is plying his trade in a new league, the ban remains and Friday’s fixture is the first of two Al Nassr contests he’ll miss out on as a result of the altercation nine months ago.
The excitement from the Al Nassr faithful is growing as the day Ronaldo finally lines up for them creeps closer.
Source: mirror.co.uk
