"They don't believe it" – Cristiano Ronaldo explains why he joined Saudi Pro League after critics claimed he is 'finished'
Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at his critics, claiming that he is still motivated to win silverwares despite moving to Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo, who left Manchester United in November 2022, chose to join Al-Nassr on a free transfer in the winter of 2023. He has helped the Saudi Pro League side win one trophy, namely Arab Champions Cup, so far.
Speaking in a promotional video for the new Netflix documentary named Saudi Pro League: Kick Off, Ronaldo clarified his intentions at his current Saudi Arabian side. He said (h/t GOAL):
"I came here to win, to make the league better. I want to leave a legacy. That's what I want. They say I'm finished, that I'm only here for the money... I still feel the passion. They don't believe it, but I'm here to win."
Since January 2023, the five-time Ballon d'Or award winner has played 85 games across competitions for Al-Nassr. He has scored 74 goals and recorded 18 assists for his team so far, winning the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot award in the 2023-24 season along the way.
Former Manchester United defender claims he & Cristiano Ronaldo are still in amicable terms
Back in October 2022, Manchester United legend Gary Neville was snubbed by Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo during a pre-match chat. He had criticized the 39-year-old for lambasting his former team and Erik ten Hag in a contentious interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan.
During a recent interaction on The Overlap, Gary Neville was asked whether he is still friends with the Portugal attacker after the aforementioned incident. He replied (h/t Tribal Football):
"He's never not been my friend. To be fair, the situation at United at the end, he went and did that interview with Piers Morgan, I didn't feel that was the right way to end it, personally. I feel as though he's a guy who has achieved basically everything in the game and more."
Sharing more thoughts on his relationship with Ronaldo, Neville added:
"To be fair, I never spoke to him before that for eight or nine years. I wasn't friends with him when I played at the club. He was a great teammate, a special player. I believe he helped United enormously back in the day and I believe United was very good for him as well, so were the senior players around him in terms of the principles and that's where I was disappointed with him at the end."
Neville, who used to operate as a right-back, played alongside the Al-Nassr striker 137 times between 2003 and 2009 at the Old Trafford outfit.