Cristiano Ronaldo - Much Ado About Al Nassr

Aki_United

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It's funny how you can be serious and make a change request in the summer because Man utd doesn't play CL and say that's below your own level, only to move to the footballing no man's land in Saudi Arabia in the winter for a bunch of money.

What a joke...

Clown.
 

Lay

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When’s he making his debut?
 

Spiersey

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Lay said:
When’s he making his debut?
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I think he’ll start v Taee on Thursday. No reason why he shouldn’t start and it’s an easy first fixture. Game after is against Shabab so they will want him to have played before that.
 

always_hoping

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The press conference was used to stroke his ego, who was the annoying woman presenting it?
 

meamth

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Spiersey said:
I think he’ll start v Taee on Thursday. No reason why he shouldn’t start and it’s an easy first fixture. Game after is against Shabab so they will want him to have played before that.
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Wow... exciting games.
 

dabronxolivera

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Who are these ass kissing fanboys of him in instagram ? Its so crazy many of them proclaim this move as a "challenge"
 

Jimmyheals

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What?! He said so many teams they did good, the African teams…well they were hit or miss. Costa Rica they did good….They were one of the worst teams out. And then to say South Africa? Is he okay? At the same time I feel for his family issues hope things are getting better.
 

TheNewEra

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Jimmyheals said:
What?! He said so many teams they did good, the African teams…well they were hit or miss. Costa Rica they did good….They were one of the worst teams out. And then to say South Africa? Is he okay? At the same time I feel for his family issues hope things are getting better.
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I think he's selling the narrative that the shit Saudi league can become something with time
 

McGrathsipan

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Spiersey said:
I think he’ll start v Taee on Thursday. No reason why he shouldn’t start and it’s an easy first fixture. Game after is against Shabab so they will want him to have played before that.
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Honestly who gives a feck.
 

André Dominguez

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Spiersey said:
China was a bit different. They pumped in huge cash with the aim of improving the local players to give themselves a chance at qualifying for a World Cup. Once they realised it wasn't having that big of an effect on the local players, they introduced the salary cap etc + combined with the Evergrande financial collapse last year, pretty much every Chinese club is now broke.
Saudi have unlimited money along with already having a high level (relative) of local players. It can definitely be a much more successful retirement/high salary league compared to China. It's not impossible that they can sustain it when theres unlimited money essentially. The Saudi's offered Tiger about $800 mil to join Liv. If they want to boost the profile of the league (I'm not overly sure they care, Ronaldo is more for the World Cup bid imo) they definitely can.
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China in theory also have almost unlimited money, but their passion for football is less then Saudi's passion, I would guess. And they are much more pragmatic at managing things.

But I think the main idea of this is to crate a PR stunt so people start to ignore those pesky human rights problems that seems to come up on every discussion about arab countries and give them a better lead at organizing events (as you stated and well about the World Cup bid).
And the truth is this kind of PR stunts actually work. It worked with China when they organized the OG (they got a much more cleaner image after that event on the world eyes), and worked with Russia that suddenly Putin started to become a "positive" meme over the years, even after Crimea and Ossetia, until now where he got too far showing his true colours.

A lot of media are already saying the "Ronaldo effect" because it was the first time a woman was leading the presentation of a major public event and showing its face in national television. Things are in motion in social media and I would say the money is being well spent, because in a few months people will see Saudi Arabia differently.

About boosting the league, sure they definitely have the means to do that. But the problem is that going on that route they might not attract the players with the right profile. Most of the players who accept this kind of contracts will see themselves more as external consultants than being part of a long term project, figuratively speaking.
I think Asian football has the money to improve a lot, but will their talent pool improve that much just by hiring expensive foreign players? I foresee their league becoming more competitive, as it happened with the chinese league that despite not having as much money their clubs still get decent results on Asian competitions, but as we saw with MLS and J-League, there seems to be a "natural" ceiling, otherwise Japan and USA would have already a couple of ballon d'or winners each with the ammount of money invested in expensive foreign players wages.
 

Semper Fudge

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Spiersey said:
I think he’ll start v Taee on Thursday. No reason why he shouldn’t start and it’s an easy first fixture. Game after is against Shabab so they will want him to have played before that.
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I can only assume your line of work involves watching obscure leagues?
 

shamans

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André Dominguez said:
China in theory also have almost unlimited money, but their passion for football is less then Saudi's passion, I would guess. And they are much more pragmatic at managing things.

But I think the main idea of this is to crate a PR stunt so people start to ignore those pesky human rights problems that seems to come up on every discussion about arab countries and give them a better lead at organizing events (as you stated and well about the World Cup bid).
And the truth is this kind of PR stunts actually work. It worked with China when they organized the OG (they got a much more cleaner image after that event on the world eyes), and worked with Russia that suddenly Putin started to become a "positive" meme over the years, even after Crimea and Ossetia, until now where he got too far showing his true colours.

A lot of media are already saying the "Ronaldo effect" because it was the first time a woman was leading the presentation of a major public event and showing its face in national television. Things are in motion in social media and I would say the money is being well spent, because in a few months people will see Saudi Arabia differently.

About boosting the league, sure they definitely have the means to do that. But the problem is that going on that route they might not attract the players with the right profile. Most of the players who accept this kind of contracts will see themselves more as external consultants than being part of a long term project, figuratively speaking.
I think Asian football has the money to improve a lot, but will their talent pool improve that much just by hiring expensive foreign players? I foresee their league becoming more competitive, as it happened with the chinese league that despite not having as much money their clubs still get decent results on Asian competitions, but as we saw with MLS and J-League, there seems to be a "natural" ceiling, otherwise Japan and USA would have already a couple of ballon d'or winners each with the ammount of money invested in expensive foreign players wages.
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MLS has improved a lot since the 2000s. You now have players moving from MLS to the premier league pretty frequently so its a legit developmental league and not only a glorified retirement. US soccer has come a far way and those contributions from star signings like Bekham, Zlatan, Rooney etc have had an impact. The sport has grown a lot here.

The problem with US is NFL, NBA are just too dominant and so the best athletes will always go there first. Also, the American season is weird and doesn't align with the rest of the world. Still, a lot of progress has been made.

Although this is a pretty weak move for Ronaldo, it's a very good move for Saudi Arabia. I don't think anyone knew 3 teams from their league but over the next few seasons they'll become known entities. Whether or not they chose to build on from that? Who knows. It would require expert planning and management. This is how it starts though, you have to sign start players in the retirement age to even make it somewhat viable.

BTW, Saudi league has always had money. I know this is some next level purchase they did here of Ronaldo but there's a reason the Saudi national team players never leave to play for foreign leagues. They get paid extremely well and enjoy a pretty decent lifestyle so there is very little incentive to leave (though they'd be better if they did you'd argue).

Lastly, I don't know where you heard about a woman leading the presentation being the first I've definitely seen that before in Saudi?
 

Wing Attack Plan R

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What’s the over / under for weeks elapsed before his poison starts coursing through the Al Hilal dressing room? Ronaldo better take a few moments to acquaint himself with the local laws and customs, or he might leave SA with one glove too many, or maybe worse.
 

TMDaines

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the_cliff said:
Apparently he had a falling out with Mendes in November and he's no longer his agent, according to the press in Portugal. He used another agent to complete the deal to Al Nassr.
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Seems as if Mendes told him not to do something stupid, so he got someone else to enable his stupidity.
 

André Dominguez

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shamans said:
MLS has improved a lot since the 2000s. You now have players moving from MLS to the premier league pretty frequently so its a legit developmental league and not only a glorified retirement. US soccer has come a far way and those contributions from star signings like Bekham, Zlatan, Rooney etc have had an impact. The sport has grown a lot here.

The problem with US is NFL, NBA are just too dominant and so the best athletes will always go there first. Also, the American season is weird and doesn't align with the rest of the world. Still, a lot of progress has been made.

Although this is a pretty weak move for Ronaldo, it's a very good move for Saudi Arabia. I don't think anyone knew 3 teams from their league but over the next few seasons they'll become known entities. Whether or not they chose to build on from that? Who knows. It would require expert planning and management. This is how it starts though, you have to sign start players in the retirement age to even make it somewhat viable.

BTW, Saudi league has always had money. I know this is some next level purchase they did here of Ronaldo but there's a reason the Saudi national team players never leave to play for foreign leagues. They get paid extremely well and enjoy a pretty decent lifestyle so there is very little incentive to leave (though they'd be better if they did you'd argue).

Lastly, I don't know where you heard about a woman leading the presentation being the first I've definitely seen that before in Saudi?
Click to expand...
There's still a big problem in Saudi Arabia about this nowadays, because usually most professional players come from upper middle class or upper class families.
The less unfortunate players don't get as many chances as the ones who come from wealthy families, but I've read that this problem is being sorted in the last few years.

I actually knew some teams from there due to playing the japanese version of Winning Eleven where you had J-League teams plus some asian ones.

In USA and Japan, the evolution was good, but I think the ceiling is being reached IMO, for similar reasons (football is still a lot behind baseball in Japan and, imagine that, on par with Sumo Wrestling, whose national tournament is taken very seriously over there. Yokozunas earn millions per year and even "division 2" sumo wrestlers get 100K+ in wages and prizes.
In American football has to compete against Basketball, American Handegg, Baseball and NHL.

If you check Landon Donovan generation, almost all their players were also playing in Europe. Sure, they didn't had any player playing in a "real top club" like they have now, but I think the overall talent is similar.

The woman leading is a thing that the press is boasting as the "Ronaldo effect", nothing to be taken serious but I'm pretty sure millions of people will buy this kind of "information". This is one of the goals of this circus: these kind of "news" improve Saudi Arabia image, even though not much is going to change there.
 

Compton22

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Mendes and Ronaldo have split apparently :lol:

He's burnt a lot of bridges, hasn't he? All for a Piers fecking Morgan exclusive :rolleyes:
 

Castia

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The downfall continues

That Piers Morgan interview will follow him for years what an absolute idiot.
 

André Dominguez

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Spiersey said:
I think he’ll start v Taee on Thursday. No reason why he shouldn’t start and it’s an easy first fixture. Game after is against Shabab so they will want him to have played before that.
Click to expand...
1.62 Ronaldo to score. Not worth the punt.
 

Suedesi

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https://theathletic.com/4053828/2023/01/04/ricardo-regufe-cristiano-ronaldo-al-nassr/

Ricardo Regufe: Cristiano Ronaldo’s right-hand man who negotiated £173million-a-year Saudi deal

Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia — where he will earn more than any footballer in history — was negotiated by his friend and personal manager Ricardo Regufe rather than agent Jorge Mendes, The Athletic can reveal.

Regufe — pronounced re-ju-fey — has known Ronaldo since the early 2000s through his work with the Portugal national team while at Nike. In recent years, he has grown increasingly prominent, to the point that he took a key role on this seismic deal. Ronaldo also personally negotiated with Al Nassr, supported by his lawyer. It is understood Mendes was not involved.


For much of their working relationship, Regufe’s brief has focused on Ronaldo’s commercial interests. He is not an agent but has now stepped into the sporting side too, and was heavily involved in talks with Manchester United over Ronaldo’s exit. Regufe is described as a “very good operator” by a source who has worked with him but spoke anonymously to protect their relationships in the industry.

Mendes has represented Ronaldo since his days as a youngster at Sporting Lisbon, agreeing moves to United, Real Madrid, Juventus and United again, as well as sorting several lucrative contracts, so his absence in this latest chapter is significant.

There is chatter in the industry that Ronaldo was frustrated over events in the summer when his desire to leave Old Trafford for a Champions League team went unfulfilled.

Mendes, meanwhile, is said to have grown frustrated at Ronaldo’s refusal to accept it was not possible to find a European club. Champions League teams turned down the chance to take Ronaldo for as little as £80,000 per week, with United willing to subsidise the rest of his salary to facilitate a departure in the last window.

In the circumstances, Mendes advised Ronaldo to stay at United, accept his role in Erik ten Hag’s squad and prove his talent on the pitch when called upon. A good season might have brought Champions League teams to the table next summer, or even seen United trigger the one-year extension in his contract.

Ronaldo could have performed a useful if not integral role under Ten Hag and the United manager tried to persuade him of this. Regufe also advocated that Ronaldo fight for his place at Old Trafford.

But Ronaldo’s mind was made up and there have been suggestions he took the initiative. An agent, who doesn’t work for Ronaldo and wished to stay anonymous to protect their relationships, told The Athletic that the 37-year-old called at least one European club executive himself to talk about the prospect of joining. A representative for Ronaldo denied he made direct contact with anybody in club hierarchies.

:lol:
 
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