“The greatest Portuguese of all time” - President of Brazilian fourth-tier side reveals bold plan to sign Cristiano Ronaldo amid Al-Nassr uncertainty
Portuguesa president Alex Bourgeois has revealed his plan to sign Al-Nassr Cristiano Ronaldo to join the Brazilian club. The Paulista AI side is plotting audacious moves to secure high-profile players, having previously attempted to sign Radamel Falcao and Nani.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in 2023, will have his contract with the Saudi club expire this summer. While there have been rumors that the 900-goal-plus veteran has agreed to sign a contract extension with the club, a deal is yet to materialize.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, Bourgeois have revealed his desire to sign the Portuguese icon. He told CNN:
“Reinforcement and rescue the pride of the Portuguese community here in Brazil, yes, that was exactly it (the attempt to sign Nani). We are behind and we will try for 2026, for the 2026 Paulistão, to bring in a great Portuguese.
“He’s the greatest Portuguese of all time, he’s the greatest personality in the world today. It would be great, but I can imagine how many people don’t offer anything related to Portugal to Cristiano Ronaldo, right? But it’s obvious that he’s a great Portuguese, and obviously, at some point, we’re going to have to try to talk.”
He added, speaking on the club’s long-term vision:
"What we need, which is part of our strategic plan, is to create a bridge between Brazil and Portugal through Portuguesa, for Portuguesa to be this channel. We are already making some progress in this direction. We believe that this will bring many people from this community of 25 million closer to us."
"There are many things in Portugal, besides Portuguese football, for which Brazilians go there, whether it be for wine, food, religion, beaches, etc. So, what we want is to bring all of this to the closest place here in Brazil to create this bridge"
Despite being in the twilight years of his career, Ronaldo has continued to strut his stuff at Al-Nassr. He is currently leading the goalscoring charts in the Saudi Pro League this term with 17 goals.
"We are still there" – Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo made it clear that he is very content in Saudi
While Portuguesa president Alex Bourgeois is planning a potential swoop for Cristiano Ronaldo amid his uncertain future, the latter made it clear earlier this year that he is happy and content with staying in Saudi.
Ronaldo said (via Team Talk):
“I’m happy and my family is happy. We started a new life in this beautiful country. Life is good, football is good. In terms of individual and collective, we are still there. We are still improving,”
“It’s hard to compete with teams like Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, but we are still there, still pushing and fighting. Football is like that; you have good moments and bad moments.’’
“But, for me, the most important thing is to be professional, to push hard, respect the club, respect your contract and believe that things will change – for Al Nassr to try to win more titles.”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr are currently in the fourth position on the Saudi Pro League table.