Home Football Ronaldo surpasses all athletes to become the world’s highest paid person after leaving Manchester United to move to Saudi Arabia

Ronaldo surpasses all athletes to become the world’s highest paid person after leaving Manchester United to move to Saudi Arabia

Football — 02/22/2024

It has been nearly a year since Cristiano Ronaldo made the surprising move from European football to the Saudi Pro League, signing one of the most lucrative contracts in sports history. Following a fallout with Erik ten Hag and the termination of his Manchester United deal by mutual consent, Ronaldo joined Al Nassr.

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The announcement of his move came on December 30th, and Ronaldo is reported to earn an astonishing £177 million per year, making him the highest-paid footballer in the world. His weekly earnings from Al Nassr amount to approximately £3,403,846. As we approach his one-year anniversary in the Saudi league, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has accumulated around £175 million through his performances on the pitch.

Image: Getty

Ronaldo’s decision to switch to Saudi Arabia had a significant impact, as several high-profile players followed suit. Neymar, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson, Kalidou Koulibaly, Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin, and Ruben Neves are among the names now plying their trade in the Saudi top flight after making summer moves.

Image: Getty

Despite approaching the age of 39 in early February, Ronaldo has continued to showcase his goal-scoring prowess in the Middle East. With 41 goals in 48 appearances, he played a crucial role in helping Al Nassr clinch their first-ever Arab Club Champions Cup by scoring twice against Al Hilal in the final.

Ronaldo is thoroughly enjoying his adventure in Saudi Arabia and has no intentions of returning to Europe before retirement. He believes that the Saudi league will soon surpass the Turkish and Dutch leagues in terms of quality.

In an interview following a 5-0 defeat to Celta Vigo in July, Ronaldo stated, “The Saudi league is better than the MLS. I’m fully confident that I won’t return to any European club. Despite the criticism I faced for coming to the Saudi league, look at what has happened now. I paved the way for the Saudi league, and now all the players are coming here. The door to European football is completely closed for me. At 38 years old, European football has lost a lot of its quality. The only league that, in my opinion, possesses great quality and is at a higher level than all others is the Premier League.”