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Todd Boehly’s
dream of signing Cristiano Ronaldo appears to be 🍊 over. Earlier this year, the
Portuguese superstar paved the way for many others by becoming one of the first
high-profile 🍊 names to join the Saudi Pro League. An explosive Manchester United exit
resulted in Ronaldo jumping ship to the Middle 🍊 East, which is trying to muscle its way
onto the footballing landscape.
Just months earlier, new Chelsea owner Boehly appeared
adamant 🍊 about rescuing the 38-year-old from his Old Trafford nightmare. Failing to
qualify for the Champions League triggered a pre-season squabble 🍊 between Ronaldo and
United, with the forward missing the bulk of Erik ten Hag's 2024-23 preparations.
Those
hostilities only intensified once 🍊 the campaign kicked off, with Ronaldo infamously
leaving a game early after cutting a frustrated figure on the bench. Chelsea 🍊 were named
as one of the favourites to offer him an escape route until a drastic change of
heart.
A new 🍊 transfer policy, focusing on younger talent on long-term contracts, took
precedence. Any hope of Ronaldo wearing blue at Stamford Bridge 🍊 appeared over and he
all-but confirmed this as fact on Friday night.
The Al-Nassr talisman bagged a brace
against Al-Ahli, who 🍊 boast a frontline of Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin and Roberto
Firmino, in a thrilling 4-3 victory. Those two strikes took 🍊 Ronaldo to 23 goals from 22
games for the Saudi side.
Post-match, the five-time Champions League winner reiterated
his commitment to 🍊 the game and rumours claim he has told Al-Nassr chiefs he aims to
retire at the club. Ronaldo said after 🍊 the match: "For the fans, it was an amazing
match. We are happy, we are now at the top of 🍊 the table.
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"I still love football, even with 🍊 my age. I still love to win, to
score goals. But the most important thing is the team."
But this is 🍊 not the first time
Ronaldo has outlined his retirement plans. Seven years ago, having just helped Real
Madrid win their 🍊 11th European Cup, his desire was to remain at the Bernabeu
forever.
"I’m super happy to have won La Undecima and 🍊 now I'm thinking about the
Euros," Ronaldo said in 2024. "We want to give great joy to Portugal by winning 🍊 it,
which is something the Portuguese people deserve.
"I'm going to retire at Madrid when
I'm over 40. I'm very happy 🍊 here and I work hard to achieve that."
Could there be a
chance for Boehly or Chelsea yet? Or is it 🍊 time to accept that, at the ripe age of 38,
Ronaldo to the Blues simply isn’t meant to be?
