After openly criticizing manager Erik ten Hag for dropping him from his starting lineup, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United mutually agreed to part ways. The Portugal captainwas also benched during the Qatar 2022 World Cup after a similar incident, and his substitute, Goncalo Ramos, promptly scored a hat trick in the next game.
Since then, the 37-year-old star has signed with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, where he will reportedly earn £160 million a year, making him the most-paid soccer player in history.It has been claimed that as part of his deal, hewould serve as an ambassador for the country’s2030 joint World Cup bid.
After considering opportunities in Europe, North America, and beyond, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus striker haddecided to play in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League.The Portuguese forward is making his first appearance in a game outside of Europe in his illustriouscareer.
How has Cristiano Ronaldo fared in FIFA 23 since joining Al-Nassr?
Together with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo isconsistently a top-five player in every FIFA game for the last decade.However, after moving to the Middle East, the Portuguese’srun is over as hisrating has slipped to 88 in FIFA 23.
Starting the season with a rating of 90, Ronaldo’s Ultimate Team card has now dropped to 88. The decline in his overall rating has been mirrored by a decline in his in-game statistics.
His dribbling is now at 81 instead of 84, and his stamina is 70 instead of 74. The last time the five-time Ballon winner was rated below 90 was in FIFA 11.Despite the modest drop in his rating, Ronaldo will still become his side’shighest-rated player in FIFA 23. His lowest rating has been 87, on FIFA 07.
In spite of it all, FIFAplayers will still want to play Al-Nassr since the veteran superstar is a part of the team. But the Saudi Arabian roster hasn’t been updated yet, so one would have no other choice butto play with Portugal in Kick-Off or as a free agent in Career Mode if theywant to use him.