Cristiano Ronaldo’s next club: Ranking his 8 likeliest destinations after Al-Nassr drama | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo is still under contract with Al-Nassr until the summer of 2027, but there’s a chance that he leaves the club this summer.

After refusing to play in their latest game against Al-Riyadh, the long-term future of the Portuguese forward is now anyone’s guess.

Indeed, it has been reported that his contract contains a clause that allows him to leave the club this summer if he chooses.

With that in mind, here are the eight most likely transfer options for Ronaldo in the summer, using the latest bookies’ odds.

1. Any MLS club – 7/4

Having spent the last two years diminishing the quality of MLS, it would be quite the turnaround from CR7 to join the league over the summer.

“The Saudi league is better than MLS,” is what Ronaldo said back in 2023.

However, despite Ronaldo’s previous thoughts, we could absolutely see him being tempted to move to the United States. For the brand exposure alone, CR7 could make a killing in North America.

We’d also get to see one last dance between him and Lionel Messi – for that reason, we’d be fully on board with Ronaldo joining the league.

2. Sporting Lisbon – 5/2

Last year, Ronaldo said that he wouldn’t return to Sporting or European football in general.

However, lots of things have changed since then and we could see a world where CR7 is tempted to re-join his boyhood club.

To join, he’d need to accept a sizeable paycut, but stranger things have happened.

3. Any Other Saudi Club – 5/1

With Ronaldo unhappy with the level of investment that Al-Nassr have received compared to other PIF-owned clubs, there’s a chance that he could jump ship over the summer.

With the PIF owning 75% of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad, it’s been fairly common for players to move between clubs.

Indeed, Karim Benzema recently made the switch from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal, which will have no doubt frustrated CR7 as it strengthens Al-Hilal’s position at the top of the table.

4. Real Madrid – 10/1

A return to Real Madrid would be sensational, but it does feel like a long shot at this stage.

With that being said, there always felt like there was a sense of unfinished business for Ronaldo in Spain when he left to join Juventus in 2018.

If he were happy to be a backup to Kylian Mbappe, Madrid might consider handing him a short-term deal, but we can’t see CR7 being content to make up the numbers.

5. Chelsea – 12/1

Prior to joining Al-Nassr, Chelsea had been heavily linked with him.

Under their previous transfer model, we could see this kind of move materialising, but Chelsea only seem to be interested in players under the age of 16 25 these days.

=6. PSG – 25/1

Given everything that Ronaldo has said about the French league in recent years, he might get a cold reception if he lands in Ligue 1.

However, with PSG potentially looking for a new face of their project in the summer, a short-term deal for Ronaldo isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

=6. Newcastle – 25/1

With Newcastle’s connection to Saudi Arabia, they do have the ability to facilitate this move.

When Ronaldo initially joined Al-Nassr, he was linked with a sensational loan move to St. James Park, although those rumours were quickly dismissed at the time.

8. Manchester United – 40/1

After how his last stint at Old Trafford ended, United would be crazy to go back in for Ronaldo at this stage.

However, with a new head coach and a fresh behind-the-scenes structure, Ronaldo might be tempted to have one final hurrah with the Red Devils. Albeit it seems very unlikely at this stage.