sport news KIERAN GILL: Why WOULDN'T Cristiano Ronaldo cash in and take £173m-a-year to ... trends now
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The downsides are obvious. We've read enough reports about Saudi Arabia wrapping their tentacles around Newcastle United to know that it would risk damaging the reputation of Instagram's most followed man.
But for Cristiano Ronaldo, the upsides of a move to the Middle East may outweigh the rest. It is why the superstar without a club is said to be looking at the offer from Saudi side Al-Nassr and thinking: 'Why not?'
Why not take a prolific payday at 37 years old? We could say he doesn't need the Saudi suitcases full of cash, but then David Beckham didn't need to take the Qatari money to be the face of the 2022 World Cup, either.
The upsides of a move to Saudi Arabia may outweigh the downsides for Cristiano Ronaldo
The 37-year-old has been offered an £173m-a-year deal by Saudi Arabian giants Al-Nassr
Sometimes the numbers seem too extraordinary to ignore, even for men of Ronaldo and Beckham status. And the numbers are indeed extraordinary – £172.9million per annum on a two-and-a-half year contract that would enable Ronaldo to play until the age of 40.
No deal has been signed, but the offer of these dizzying figures is there. Word is Al-Nassr have even indicated they would compensate Ronaldo for the £16m wages he would have earned at Manchester United, had he seen out the last six months of his contract instead of a mutual termination.
Why not be guaranteed game-time? Ronaldo didn't get that under Erik ten Hag at United and that resulted in him throwing his toys out of the pram more than once – the refusal to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur, the storming out of Old Trafford before full-time in that same game, the interview with
