Prior to joining Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly received a sizable financial offer from Brazil. The club’s president has now corroborated Ronaldo’s claim.
After signing a contract worth reportedly €200 million per year, Ronaldo was officially introduced as an Al Nassr player on Tuesday, standing in front of the media alongside head coach Rudi Garcia and club president Musalli Al-Muammar.
Following his departure from Manchester United, very few teams were able to give the 37-year-old those kinds of conditions, but Brazilian powerhouse Corinthians were at least prepared to match the €30 million base salary he received at Old Trafford.
Duilio Monteiro Alves, president of Corinthians, spoke to a Sao Paulo publication that focuses on the team, Meu Timao:
“The proposal was ours.”
“We made an offer for a salary equal to what he earned at Manchester United, for a two-year contract. I spoke six or seven times to Jorge Mendes, and in the end, we sent a proposal through somebody else.”
In November, as the former’s dispute with United grew more heated, Ronaldo and Mendes decided to sever their player-agent partnership. The Glazer family ownership and Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag were later criticized by Ronaldo in an unofficial chat with Piers Morgan.
Duilio continued:
“I made the offer and hoped he’d reject (laughs)”.
“Just kidding, we had many partners already notified. I think we had to try. People though going for Renato Augusto and Willian was funny and it worked out in the end. As Corinthians president you have to look for the best in the world.”
What did Ronaldo say?
Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer for Real Madrid, a Champions League victor with them and Manchester United, and a European Champion with Portugal, was viewed by many as a player on the decline when he signed with Al Nassr.
