04 January 2023 , 10:58
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Cristiano Ronaldo contradicted a comment he made about his ambitions to Piers Morgan during his Al-Nassr unveiling.
The Portugal international and five-time Ballon d'Or winner has penned a £173million per season deal in Saudia Arabia, putting an end to his career in Europe and any opportunity of building upon his Champions League records.
Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr after his Manchester United contract was terminated in November while he was on World Cup duty with Portugal, following an explosive interview with Morgan, in which he claimed he felt "betrayed" by the Red Devils and admitted he has no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
During the interview, Ronaldo made it clear that he was unhappy at losing his place in the first team at United and suggested he wanted to leave for a Champions League club in order to add to his impressive stats.
Morgan says to Ronaldo at one point in the conversation: "You want to keep playing at the highest level. You want to play Champions League football, you want to be breaking records.
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"It comes back to my gut feeling about you, that if it was just about money you'd be in Saudi Arabia earning a king's ransom. But that's not what motivates you. You want to keep at the top."
Ronaldo responds to the statement: "Exactly. Because I still believe that I can score many, many goals and help the team."
According to The Athletic, Ronaldo's long-term superagent Jorge Mendes, who negotiated the forward's transfer from United to Real Madrid to Juventus and then back to United, believed the 37-year-old was better staying put at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo was interviewed by Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan/Twitter)He suggested that instead of trying to find another club, Ronaldo should stick it out at United and try to fight his way back into the first team under Ten Hag as Champions League sides willing to take a punt on the forward were not forthcoming.
Mendes was of the impression that should Ronaldo knuckle down and impress then United could qualify for the Champions League next season and trigger the one-year extension in his contract.
If not, then he would be in a much better position to secure a move to a Champions League club in next summer's transfer window.
Ronaldo is said to have grown frustrated by this take and was annoyed that a summer move away from United failed to materialise.
Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia ahead of his official Al-Nassr unveiling (Al Nassr Football Club/AFP via G)The forward then took it upon himself to have his friend and personal manager Ricardo Regufe negotiate a transfer for him, with Ronaldo this week putting pen to paper in Saudi Arabia.
Upon doing so, Ronaldo contradicted his statement to Morgan in which he claimed he wants to play at the highest level for the remainder of his career and compete in the Champions League.
"I'm a unique player," said Ronaldo. "I beat all the records there [in Europe]. I want to beat a few records here. This contract is unique but I'm a unique player, so for me, it's normal. I really don't worry about what people say. I am really, really happy to be here. I know the league is very competitive, I saw many games… I'm ready to keep playing football."
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"Nobody knows this, but I had many opportunities in Europe, Brazil, Australia, America, and Portugal, and many clubs tried to sign me. I gave my word to this club. I want to give a different vision of this country and football. This is why I took this opportunity."