Cristiano Ronaldo recently signed a contract
with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr until June 2025. The deal will fetch Ronaldo
a minimum of $75 million per year, which can be stretched to $200 million
annually, with endorsements. This development has resulted in Ronaldo becoming football's
highest-paid player.
The 37-year-old left Manchester United after a fallout
with the management. Last year, he had turned down a contract from a different
Saudi club, insisting that he was happy with United. However, things took a dramatic
turn after United’s manager Erik ten Hag kept the Portugal star deciding to
bench Ronaldo and not giving enough respect to Ronaldo.
With this assignment, the five-time Ballon d’Or
winner will play outside Europe for the first time in his illustrious career. Ronaldo
expressed his delight to perform well in Europe and thinks the new deal would be
a new challenge in his twilight years.
“I’m so proud to make this big decision in my
life. In Europe my work is done. I won everything and played for the most
important clubs in Europe. This is a new challenge. I beat all the records
there. I want to beat a few records here,” Ronaldo said during the unveiling ceremony in Riyadh.
However, a move to the Middle East has resulted in Ronaldo taking a hit in ratings in the popular video game FIFA 23. At the launch of the game in October 2021, the striker had a rating of 90 and was ranked as one of the top ten players. But according to FIFA 23 closed beta, Ronaldo's latest rating has slipped to 88.
Further, attributes like dribbling score have gone down from 84 to 81, while stamina rating has reached 80 from 84. This is the first time since FIFA 11 that Ronaldo’s ratings have gone below 90.