Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese footballing superstar, is reportedly expected to leave Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr in the upcoming January transfer window to join their rivals Al-Hilal in a shocking move. It is understood that since Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t won any silverware for the better part of the last two years with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, he is being looked upon as a perfect replacement for Neymar by Al-Hilal.
After joining Al-Hilal at the turn of 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo has played 83 matches for Al-Nassr in all competitions, scoring 73 goals in total. His arrival to Saudi Arabia kick started an exodus of top players, who were plying their trade in Europe, to join the Saudi Pro League, where the clubs have been spending exorbitant sums of money as part of the country’s efforts to diversify its status and become a global powerhouse in sports.
Al-Hilal are interested in replacing Neymar with Cristiano Ronaldo
According to a report published in Sport in Portugal, Al-Hilal are interested in severing their ties with Neymar, who has played a handful of games for them since his arrival from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023. After taking nearly a year to recover from his ACL injury, the Brazilian is already not registered by Al-Hilal to play in the Saudi Pro League, while his recent appearance for them in the AFC Champions League Elite ended in yet another injury as well.
With that, Al-Hilal are looking to replace Neymar with a marquee signing, and they have identified Cristiano Ronaldo as the man to fill in the role of a goal-scorer for them next year. But, it is important to note that Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract with Al-Nassr runs until the summer of 2025 with an option of extending it a further year, and therefore, it might not be quite a simple task for Al-Hilal to close the deal this winter itself.
Moreover, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about his future in football in an interview this past August, and said, “I don’t know if I will retire soon, in two or three years, but probably I will retire here at Al Nassr. I’m happy at this club, I feel good in this country too. I’m happy to play in Saudi Arabia and I want to continue.”