With his January move to Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed all other athletes in the globe in terms of salary. Since then, he has put up impressive numbers for his new team, scoring 12 goals in 13 league games. However, rumors have surfaced that the 38-year-old veteran is wanting to depart.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner may be plotting his getaway even if his contract doesn’t expire until the end of 2025, as has been widely speculated. His long-term partner Georgina Rodriguez reportedly longs to go back to Madrid, where the pair first met.
In light of Al-Nassr’s recent elimination from both the King Cup and Saudi Arabia’s Supercup, the ex-Manchester United star didn’t exactly leave the mark that many had hoped for. Even worse for the Portuguese legend is that he has failed to score in four of his past five games, increasing the likelihood that he will finish his first season in Saudi Arabia trophy-less.
Why does Cristiano Ronaldo apparently want out of Saudi Arabia?
There are two key reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is having trouble adjusting to life in Saudi Arabia. RMC Sport, a French news organization, reports that the Portugual captain is frustrated by the linguistic barrier. It also seems the culture shock from moving away from Europe is too much for the veteran to bear.
Since Ronaldo had never played professionally outside of Europe, his move to the Middle East was a dramatic shift of scenery. He reportedly finds the culture to be ‘very different’ from his native country and is hence unimpressed.
Meanwhile, it’s a well-known fact that the official language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic, which Ronaldo does not know. CR7 understands English, Spanish, and Portuguese but struggles with the Arabic language and still working on mastering it, the French outlet adds.