Why Ronaldo failed to finalize €2m-per-week transfer away from Manchester United in January

This summer has not been a calm one for the events that surround Cristiano Ronaldo. These events have been highlighted by rumors about the possibility of the Portuguese star leaving Manchester United.

That was reportedly the player’s objective all along. On the other hand, the proposals that he currently had before him were not ones that piqued his attention, and the ones that he was very enthusiastic about never materialized into something tangible.

One of the offers that Ronaldo was presented with has become public knowledge now that the transfer window has shut down and the player is still under contract with United.According to CNN Portugal, the veteranwas reportedly presented with an offer of €242 million in total by the Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal, who also promised to sign him to a deal lasting two years.

Why Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia failed to materialize

According to Fahad ben Nafel, the president of the Saudi club, Cristiano Ronaldo met with their representatives during the transfer window to discuss the possibility of making a move away from Manchester United.A number of clubs, including Al-Hilal of Riyad, who were crowned champions of the Saudi Professional League in the previous campaign, had been mentioned as potential destinations for the 37-year-old.

In addition, Ben Nafel is quoted as saying in an interview that can be seen on the Thamanya YouTube channel that the club was only prevented from completing a blockbuster deal for Ronaldo because the team was put under a transfer ban.

“Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo. The problem was not in the money or the principle. Al-Hilal is able to bring in the stars of the world, but it was the decision of the Sports Arbitration Center that prevented us from registering the players. We did not stop negotiating with the players despite the decision to ban, but we were delaying entering the final stage of the negotiations until the ban was lifted.”

If Ronaldo had accepted the offer, he would have been the highest-paid player in the world. The superstar strikerhas scored only one goal for his club so far this season, and it came in theUEFA Europa League against Sheriff Tiraspol from Moldova.

Interestingly, although he had previously signed a contract with both Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, midfielderMohamed Kanno ultimately decided against moving to Al-Nassr, which resulted in the former teambeing penalized with a transfer ban in the month of May.