Cristiano Ronaldo led Al-Nassr to send fresh proposal to convince ex-Real Madrid star to join club - Reports
Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr are reportedly ready to step up their chase for former Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. The 38-year-old is a free agent, having parted ways with Sevilla in the summer.
Ronaldo and Ramos shared the dressing room at the Santiago Bernabeu for nine long years. They share a pretty strong bond having played 339 times alongside each other at Real Madrid.
If reports from Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo are to be believed, Al-Nassr are looking to reunite the former teammates at the Al-Awwal Park. Fernando Hierro, another Real Madrid great and Al-Nassr's sporting director, is trying his best to convince Ramos.
Ramos spent 16 glorious years of his career at the Santiago Bernabeu and also captained Los Blancos for a long time. He helped the Spanish capital club win four Champions League honors and five La Liga titles, among other honors.
While Ramos is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of the modern era, he is also known for his ability to score goals. The Real Madrid legend is one of the highest-scoring defenders of all time, having scored 140 goals for club and country.
Al-Nassr have endured a difficult start to the new season losing 4-1 to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final and drawing their league opener against Al-Raed 1-1. Cristiano Ronaldo has, however, started the season strongly with three goals and one assist in three games.
Ex-Manchester United coach backs former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo to return to Europe after his stint at Al-Nassr
Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to return to Europe. The Portuguese superstar is currently on the books of Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia but Meulensteen believes that he still has a career left in Europe.
With Ronaldo's contract at Al-Nassr set to expire next summer, rumors of a potential return to Europe have gathered momentum. Meulensteen, the former assistant of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, has claimed that he sees the Portuguese great returning to European football.
He was quoted as saying in The Gambling Zone:
"There would be some romance in Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Europe to finish his career off. But, one of the problems we saw with Portugal is that the focus becomes all about Ronaldo. It was all too focused on him, which didn’t help, even though Ronaldo can still do a job as long as he understands his role and what he can contribute."
"He also needs to understand that he’s not the same player anymore, not the same as Cristiano Ronaldo when he was 28. He can still play an important role in many aspects. So yeah, I think it would be nice for a lot of reasons if he returned to Europe, maybe with Sporting. It will be really interesting to see when eventually he announces his retirement from football," Meulensteen added.
Cristiano Ronaldo ended his European career in January 2023 when he left Manchester United on mutual consent. His exit was facilitated by his explosive interview with Piers Morgan in December 2022.
The five-time Ballon d'Or has been in Saudi Arabia for a season and a half now and has 61 goals and 16 assists in 67 appearances for the Riyadh-based club.