Cristiano Ronaldo now ready to share his experience in Asia

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a 2-1/2 year contract, the club announced on Friday, after leaving Manchester United to become a free agent.

Ronaldo departed Old Trafford last month following an explosive television interview in which the 37-year-old forward said he felt betrayed by the club and did not respect their Dutch manager Erik ten Hag.

Al Nassr issued a statement saying the five-time Ballon D’or winner will join on a deal until 2025 but did not disclose any financial details. Ronaldo's contract has been estimated by media to be worth more than 200 million euros ($214.04 million).

"I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football and feel now that this is the right moment to share my experience in Asia," Ronaldo said in the statement.

"I am looking forward to joining my new team mates and together with them help the Club to achieve success."

Ronaldo will arrive in Saudi Arabia with a vast collection of club honours after a glittering spell at Spanish giants Real Madrid from 2009-18 where he won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, four Champions League titles and three Club World Cups.

He went on to score a club record 451 times for Real and has more than 800 senior goals overall for club and country.

Ronaldo claimed two Serie A titles and a Copa Italia trophy in three years at Juventus before rejoining United with whom he had bagged three Premier League crowns, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and Club World Cup.

He played for Portugal in Qatar, where he became the first player to score in five World Cups after netting a penalty in his side's opening Group H game against Ghana. Portugal were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Morocco.

Ronaldo said Qatar would probably be his last World Cup as he plans to retire at 40, with a move to Saudi Arabia likely to mark the swansong in the career one of the game's greatest current players alongside Lionel Messi.

"This is more than history in the making," Al Nassr Football Club President Musalli Almuammar said. "This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations."

The Saudi Arabian club, who have won nine Saudi Pro Premier League titles, are hoping Ronaldo can help them win another domestic league title and a first AFC Asian Champions League.

However, the Portuguese forward will miss his first two domestic games after being banned for knocking a phone out of a fan's hand after United's defeat at Everton in April.

Ronaldo's quest for a World Cup winners' medal in Qatar started well as he became the first player to score in five global tournaments when he converted a penalty in their win against Ghana.

But he was left out of the starting line-up for their last-16 clash as Portugal ripped Switzerland apart.

When Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarter-finals, he started on the bench and ended the tournament in tears.

Ronaldo has long been one of the top-paid players in football.

His salary was a reported 31 million euros at Juventus, although the Turin club's accounts are being investigated for possibly under-reporting what they paid players.

While he took a pay cut to rejoin United, with reports putting his basic annual salary somewhere between 15 million and 28 million euros, before bonuses, that still made him one of the best-paid players in Europe.

As his relationship with United soured, Ronaldo was linked to a string of Champions League contenders including Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Napoli.

A return to his first club Sporting in Lisbon was also rumoured. There was talk of a move to the MLS to join Inter Miami, part-owned by former United team mate David Beckham. None of those deals came to fruition.

United decided his diminishing contribution coupled with his growing and public dissatisfaction made him a pricey luxury they no longer needed.

Ronaldo has long been in competition with Lionel Messi for the titles of greatest player and biggest earner in football.

Messi pulled away from Ronaldo on the field by winning a World Cup, but the sums of money the Portuguese star will reportedly receive in Riyadh, far surpasses what the Argentine is making from Paris Saint-Germain.

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