Al Hilal, the current Saudi Arabian club of Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo, have reportedly approached Cristiano Ronaldo and are keen to beat their local rivals Al Nassr to a transfer deal for the superstar.
The five-time Ballon d’Or is a free agent at present after having his Manchester United contract terminated in November, and a surprise switch to the Middle East in January has been heavily speculated.
Al Nassr, which incidentally is Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa’s former club, have reportedly offered Ronaldo a lucrative two-and-a-half-year contract worth a whopping £170 million per season in an attempt to bring him to the club.
But it has now emerged that there are fierce rivals for his signature in the form of Al Hilal, who are ready to pay big money to get the 37-year-old striker.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported the Al Hilal link but insisted they would have to wait until next summer to sign Ronaldo due to a ban on registering new players.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “There is another club that wants Cristiano Ronaldo.
“This club is Al Hilal. It’s true that Cristiano Ronaldo was approached by people close to Al Hilal.
“People at the club are prepared to make another important and crazy proposal.
“There is one interesting point though. I am told Al Hilal are not able to sign players in January.
“They will only be able to sign players in the summer. That’s why at the moment it is complicated in January. That’s why Al Nassr are pushing and they would love to sign Ronaldo but Al Hilal also have an interest.
“The priority of Cristiano Ronaldo remains to have a new club as soon as possible.”
Ronaldo, who is captaining Portugal at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, had his United contract cancelled after he did an interview in which he accused the club of ‘betraying’ him and verbally attacked coach Erik ten Hag.
