Saudi Arabian club to enjoy government support in Ronaldo chase

The Portugal international is available as a free agent after terminating his Man Utd contract.

Saudi Arabia’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal supports the idea of bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to the country’s domestic league.

Manchester United announced they terminated Ronaldo’s contract on mutual consent earlier this week. Having left Old Trafford for the second time in his career, Ronaldo is free to join a new club after the World Cup.

In addition to interest from a few Premier League and Major League Soccer (MLS) sides, an unnamed Saudi club is also in the race to sign CR7.

Speaking to BBC, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister expressed his excitement over the possible transfer.

“Anything is possible,” he said. “I would love to see Ronaldo play in the Saudi league.

“It would benefit the league, the sports ecosystem in Saudi, and it will inspire the youth for the future. He’s a role model to a lot of kids and has a big fan base.”

He added: “It’s the most-watched league in Saudi and the region, and you have a lot of fans of the Premier League.

“From the private sector, I can’t speak on their behalf. But there is a lot of interest and appetite and there’s a lot of passion about football.

“We will definitely support it if any [Saudi] private sector comes in, because we know that’s going to reflect positively on sports within the kingdom. If there’s an investor willing to do so and the numbers add up, why not?”