Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to make the move to Saudi Arabia after the World Cup. The Portuguese star, who left Manchester United by mutual consent last month, when his contract was terminated, has been linked with a plethora of clubs.
But the only team with a concrete offer on the table appears to be Al-Nassr, with reports of a £173million-a-year contract. It would make him the highest paid player in world football, surpassing the deals PSG trio Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi are tied to.
Ronaldo, however, believes he can still cut it at the highest level and is understood to be waiting until the World Cup ends to see if a European powerhouse comes in for him.
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In England, Chelsea are the team who have been most heavily linked. New owner Todd Boehly met with Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes in the summer, when the Blues were tipped to make a move.
Then manager Thomas Tuchel said no to the idea of signing the Portuguese superstar and a deal was not done. Tuchel was later sacked by Boehly, however and with Graham Potter now in charge, links have resurfaced once more.
A deal is unlikely at this stage, despite Boehly being a huge admirer of the 37-year-old and links will remain until Ronaldo puts pen to paper on a deal elsewhere.
Were he to sign for the Stamford Bridge club, however, Ronaldo would have to do something he has never done before - wear a different shirt number.
He is not allowed to sign for anyone new until January 1 and will be suspended for two games after knocking a phone out of an Everton fan's hand at the end of last season. Joining mid-season would mean him taking a shirt number that is not already in use and Ronaldo has predominantly used one number for the entirety of his career - seven.
However, that number is occupied by N'Golo Kante, who is out of contract in west London in the summer.
Ronaldo has only ever worn two other shirt numbers in his 22-year career. His first number at Sporting CP was 28, which he wore for one season only before joining Manchester United the first time. Then, in his first season at Real Madrid he wore the number nine shirt, before taking the number seven from Raul following his departure in 2010.
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