Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal have claimed Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was interested in joining them in the summer.
Ronaldo, 37, wanted to leave Old Trafford in pre-season to play Champions League football. The Red Devils failed to qualify for Europe's premier competition after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season, which saw them drop into the Europa League.
Chelsea, Napoli and Atletico Madrid were all linked with Ronaldo, but it's believed no Champions League club came close to signing him. The only concrete offer the veteran forward received was a £211million two-year deal from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club.
As Ronaldo's desire to leave United was to play Champions League football, he was never expected to accept this offer. Yet it's claimed the Portugal international did consider a contract from Al-Hilal. Whether this was the huge £211m offer remains unconfirmed.
Speaking to the Thamanya YouTube channel, Al-Hilal president Fahad ben Nafel said: "Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo. The problem was not in the money or the principle, Al-Hilal is able to bring in the stars of the world, but it was in the decision of the Sports Arbitration Center that prevented us from registering the players.
"We did not stop negotiating with the players despite the decision to ban, but we were delaying entering the final stage of the negotiations until the ban was lifted."
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The links between Ronaldo and Saudi Arabia aren't going anywhere. Speaking to The Athletic, the president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Yasser Al-Miseha recently said: "We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league.
"It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I’m sure everyone knows the achievements and records of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also as a player who is a great role model.
"I think, ‘Why not?’ I’m sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course, but we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years. We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi league. I like Cristiano Ronaldo as a player and I would like to see him play in Saudi Arabia."
Ronaldo could be more persuaded by a move to Saudi Arabia if his form doesn't improve. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has made a poor start to the season by his lofty standards, scoring just once in nine appearances for club and country.
There are rumours Ronaldo will be dropped for Portugal's Nations League finals decider against Spain on Tuesday night, a decision that would speak volumes. He's not been dropped for a must-win international game since the start of his 20-year career.
Ronaldo has already slipped down the pecking order at Old Trafford. He's only started once in the Premier League this season - which was the 4-0 defeat to Brentford - and he faces a battle to regain his spot in the starting XI from Marcus Rashford.
