Al-Hilal President Fahad ben Nafel has confirmed that Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo did not reject a move to the Saudi Arabian club during the summer transfer window and provided the real reason why the mega-money deal collapsed.
Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer saga this summer was perhaps the most widely spoken among football enthusiasts. The Manchester United icon desired to leave Old Trafford for a shot at Champions League glory but failed to find a suitor among the top European clubs. Nearly a month after the transfer deadline, Al-Hilal's President, Fahad bin Nafel, has shocking revealed that the Portuguese icon 'did not reject' a blockbuster summer transfer to the Saudi Arabian club. The Al-Hilal supremo added that both parties were heading into the final stages of negotiations before the mega-money move collapsed.
On the Thamanya YouTube channel, Al-Hilal President Fahad bin Nafel insisted that it was not Ronaldo who pulled the plug on the deal in the summer window. Instead, he revealed that a transfer ban placed on the Saudi Arabian side proved to be a critical blow to the move.
"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 Centre 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," revealed Al-Hilal President Fahad bin Nafel.
37-year-old Ronaldo appeared set to leave Manchester United in the summer after the team missed out on Champions League qualification with only one year remaining on his Old Trafford deal. The Portugal talisman was interested in joining Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Napoli, but none of them decided to pursue the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
That made moving to the Middle East, where huge salaries of up to 2 million pounds a week were available, seem more likely for Ronaldo. Al-Hilal seemed to be in the lead. However, following Mohamed Kanno's transfer fiasco, in which he signed for two teams at once, they were hit with penalties that barred them from signing any new players.
The 4-0 thrashing at Brentford was Ronaldo's last Premier League start this season, with Marcus Rashford taking the No. 9 spot. In the Europa League match between United and Sheriff, the Portuguese superstar did score his first goal of the year from the penalty spot. However, SunSport said that his teammates anticipate him making another move in January. With Fahad bin Nafel confirming that talks with the Portugal legend are continuing, a blockbuster move to the Al-Hilal could well be on the cards after World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
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