The call that Cristiano Ronaldo was waiting for but never came

Cristiano Ronaldo put pen to paper on a deal to join Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr. The club announced his signing on Friday after the president and directors travelled to Madrid to seal the agreement.

The two parties negotiated for 40 days and all they waited for was that final meeting with the Al Nassr boss. Although Ronaldo denied everything during the 2022 World Cup, he was aware that his future was in Saudi Arabia.

At the time, Ronaldo did not want any distractions, but negotiations were progressing and the striker was aware of everything.

It all started when he gave an interview to Piers Morgan that marked the end of his time as a Manchester United player.

From that moment on, the Portuguese star knew about Al Nassr's offer, but he also realized that joining top-level European football was practically impossible.

The offer and the subsequent negotiations were carried out by Ricardo Regufe, a person very close to Ronaldo. Superagent Jorge Mendes had no involvement in his move to Saudi Arabia.

After Portugal's World Cup exit, Ronaldo moved back to Madrid and even asked for permission to train at Real Madrid's training ground in Valdebebas.

Meanwhile, he waited for a call from Real Madrid that never came. The deal was reached after Al Nassr found a way out for several players, while deals with other footballers fell through and several commercial agreements were reached to make Ronaldo the highest paid player worldwide.

MARCA were the first to report about Al Nassr's offer to Ronaldo on November 25, with his signing being officially announced on Friday.