Cristiano Ronaldo: Potential Destinations As Al Nassr Frustration Reaches Breaking Point

Is there one more blockbuster transfer left in the career of Cristiano Ronaldo?

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently on strike in Saudi Arabia. | Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

Significant doubt has been cast over the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr following the recent revelation that the frustrated Portugal legend has gone on strike.

Reportedly angered by a perceived lack of support Al Nassr have received in the transfer market from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which controls the club, along with Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Ahli, Ronaldo was voluntarily absent from his side’s 1–0 win over Al Riyadh on Monday.

Frustrations arose from Al Hilal signing Karim Benzema, his former Real Madrid teammate, from Al Ittihad, with Al Nassr having been comparatively quiet during the winter window.

The next chapter in the saga remains difficult to predict but there is a genuine possibility that Ronaldo departs Al Nassr—the veteran striker said to be “considering his future” in Saudi Arabia. Even about to turn 41, retirement is not an option as he continues to chase 1,000 career goals.

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Another Saudi Pro League Club

Could Ronaldo (left) reunite with Karim Benzema (right)? | WUN SUEN/AFP/Getty Images

Irritated by the lack of ambition shown by Al Nassr, who are yet to win the Saudi Pro League since Ronaldo’s arrival, could the Portuguese follow the path recently laid by Benzema and trade one of Saudi’s big four for another?

Well, it certainly can’t be ruled out, although a move to Al Hilal appears unlikely given Benzema’s recent transfer. Al Ittihad will certainly be eying a replacement for the departed Frenchman and now find themselves without a superstar striker. Al Ahli already have Ivan Toney scoring goals for fun.

Moving to another PIF-owned club would allow Ronaldo to retain his astronomical wages—an approximate $4.5 million (£3.3 million) per week—but it would be something of a sideways transfer that could well backfire.

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Major League Soccer

The renewal of an epic rivalry is on the cards. | Tim Clayton/Jeff Dean/Getty Images

Major League Soccer has long been touted as a potential destination for Ronaldo and the possible renewal of his career-long rivalry with nemesis Lionel Messi appears to fuel the bulk of rumors. It’s certainly a commercially profitable transfer from that perspective.

Ronaldo will be representing Portugal at this summer’s 2026 World Cup in the United States and speculation about a permanent stay in North America is now certain to intensify around the tournament.

Whether Ronaldo would be interested in re-engaging in his on-field feud with Messi remains to be seen and there will be major question marks over the capacity of any MLS club to pay his salary. A massive pay-cut would be required given that even Messi earns around $411,000 (£300,000) weekly at present with Inter Miami CF, less than Ronaldo’s current daily salary.

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Sporting CP

Ronaldo could return to Portugal. | Miguel Lemos/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Ronaldo’s extraordinary salary also makes a return to Europe impossible without a reduction in his wages but the forward, who celebrates his birthday this month, would perhaps be willing to accept lesser terms in order to return to Portugal and Sporting CP.

Ronaldo joined the Lisbon side in 1997 and swiftly impressed in their youth system, earning a speedy promotion to the first team. However, he played just one senior season with the club before departing for Manchester United, with a poetic end-of-career return allowing him to finish up where it all began.

“I won’t return to European football. The door is completely closed,” Ronaldo revealed back in 2023. But could nostalgia force a change of heart?

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Real Madrid

An unlikely return cannot be dismissed. | Angel Martinez/Real Madrid/Getty Images

Deals don’t come much more improbable than a return to the Santiago Bernabéu for Ronaldo but the wild mind of Florentino Pérez has conjured up crazier ideas previously. Nothing can be entirely ruled out in modern football.

It would be an absolutely insane deal to sanction from Madrid’s perspective, with the ultimate harmony disruptor only exacerbating the club’s identity and personality issues—not to mention that Ronaldo hasn’t tested himself against elite opposition on a weekly basis since his unceremonious second exit from Manchester United at the end of 2022.

But imagine a forward trio of Kylian Mbappé, Ronaldo and Vinicius Junior. What the triumvirate lacked in work rate they would more than make up for in ego.

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