Izuchukwu OkosiFormer Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled on Tuesday evening by his new club, Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, in a colourful ceremony.
Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the rich Saudi club on a £177m annual salary which makes him the best paid footballer on earth.
The move was the Portuguese’s first outside of Europe after falling out with United whom he rejoined having had a successful stint earlier in his career.
The five-time Ballon D’Or award winner arrived the Middle East on Monday and underwent his medical on Tuesday before the official introduction to the media and fans.
The superstar also has a clause in his contract to be the ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s 2030 World Cup campaign.
READ ALSO: Ronaldo Set For Al Nassr Move On 7-year €200m Deal
Ronaldo also revealed that he had offers from clubs across Europe, including Portugal, USA and Australia.
Speaking at a press conference before walking out onto the pitch in front of his new home supporters, Ronaldo said: “I feel so proud to make this big decision in my life.
“In Europe, my work is done. “I’m grateful Al Nassr have given me this opportunity, not only for the football but for the young generation and the female generation.
“For me, this is a challenge but I feel very happy and very proud.
“I had many opportunities in Europe, in Brazil, in Australia, in the US and even in Portugal many clubs tried to sign me, but I gave my word to this club.
“This is a good chance to grow many important points here with my knowledge and my experience.”
Ronaldo left Manchester United last month following an explosive television interview in which the forward said he felt betrayed by the Old Trafford club and did not respect their Dutch manager Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo arrives in Saudi Arabia with a vast collection of club honours after a glittering spell at Spanish giants Real Madrid from 2009-18 where he won two LaLiga titles, two Spanish Cups, four Champions League titles and three Club World Cups.
He went on to score a club record 451 times for Real and has more than 800 senior goals overall for club and country.
He also claimed two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia trophy in three years at Juventus before rejoining United with whom he had won three Premier League crowns, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and Club World Cup.
Ronaldo could make his debut for Al Nassr on Thursday against Saudi Pro-League side Al Ta’ee or on Saturday against Al Shabab.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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