With his arrival in the Saudi League the obituary of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career in Europe was seemingly written. After all, Cristiano at 38 signed a two-year contract worth around 200 million euros it would seem unlikely that any other team in the world could outbid the Saudi’s and take Cristiano off their hands. So what’s this about Cristiano returning to a Premier League side next season?
Well, it’s widely known that Cristiano Ronaldo’s favorite competition is the Champions League. He’s the competition’s top scorer only followed by Lionel Messi who isn’t necessarily catching up any time soon. There’s one Champions League record though that Cristiano does not possess, and that’s the total Champions League titles as a player. That record is held by another Real Madrid legend Paco Gento who won the trophy 6 times. Ronaldo’s total after his last win with Real Madrid is 5. He could still add to that total, but he would definitely need plenty of things to come together.
Newcastle Could Be Ronaldo’s New Premier League Home
The Premier League side that Cristiano Ronaldo could join is Newcastle. This is not just speculation. There’s seemingly a clause in Cristiano’s contract that if Newcastle are able to make the Champions League he would have the option of joining the team next season. In fact, since he’s contracted to the Saudi royal family in a way for two years the clause could potentially apply to the season after that as well.
We just mentioned that Cristiano’s contract was essentially with the Saudi royal family. The family owns both Al-Nassr and Newcastle. Of course the last statement we just made is an oversimplification. While neither of the two teams are officially owned by the Saudi royal they are effectively owned by the family. It’s complicated if you want to think about the Saudi royal family in the same way that the British royal family operates.
While the British royal family certainly hold plenty of “soft” power, the Saudi royals have real direct power, and can influence the decisions made within their country and by enterprises from their country. Newcastle was bought by a Saudi public fund which essentially is held by the crown. Long story short even if “legally” these two teams are not owned by the same entity they effectively are. That’s the reason why this particular clause to play Champions League games with Newcastle exists in Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract.
Wouldn’t That Cause A Conflict With The Saudi League Side?
Yes, and no! Of course not being able to call on Cristiano Ronaldo for a period of time is not ideal for Al-Nassr. Also, it’s not exactly “legal” for him to play some games at Newcastle, and then come back to Al-Nassr outside of transfer windows. It’s not like Al-Nassr could technically serve as the youth team of Newcastle. Although something could be worked out. After all, money is not an issue, and Cristiano’s contract wouldn’t be either because as we said the money comes out of the same pockets for Al-Nassr and Newcastle.
For the Saudi royal family it may be just as important to make sure that their local team wins as it would be to see their Premier League team win. With that in mind they would probably be open to allowing Ronaldo to spend more time in the UK if that means that he’d be able to help the team win. Particularly if Newcastle are set to make a run at the Champions League. Ultimately though if the team does not make the Champions League then that clause in Ronaldo’s contract would not be activated. That would mean Ronaldo would be stuck in the Saudi League for at least 2 years!
