Former Liverpool man ‘sees’ Cristiano Ronaldo at Newcastle United amid huge contract offer

Former Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Sissoko believes Cristiano Ronaldo will remain in the Premier League - with Newcastle United among the teams that can afford him. That is despite the 37-year-old reportedly agreeing a record-breaking contract with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.

Ronaldo ignited his Manchester United exit earlier this month during a TV interview with Piers Morgan after claiming he felt betrayed by the Red Devils and that he did not respect Erik ten Hag among a number of other controversial statements.

Man United took legal advice and decided to terminate Ronaldo’s contract with immediate effect - just days before the start of the Qatar World Cup, where he is currently competing with Portugal.

Reports are circulating the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s next club, and it’s been claimed by Spanish publication Marca he’s set to sign a £173million-a-year contract with Al Nassr. Sissoko, however, thinks Ronaldo will stay in England.

Speaking to Italian outlet Il Bianconero, the retired midfielder said: “In my opinion he will stay in England and I see him at Newcastle. Only they have the money to be able to afford him in Europe, at least among the teams interested in him.”

The Daily Mail reported earlier this month that Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes had held talks with Newcastle, news that was scarcely believable to Magpies supporters.

Previously, head coach Eddie Howe was asked about the prospect of signing Ronaldo and relayed the club’s policy and signing youngster players to get the average age of the squad down.

“He’s an outstanding player,” Howe said. “If you look at his goal record last year, it was incredible. For me, the transfer has worked, it’s been a success.

“He scored some massive goals last year, and some really late important goals in the Champions League. He’s still an outstanding player and should never be underestimated.

“We’re trying to provide long-term growth, we’ve got a longer-term vision. At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad, so we probably need to invest in more young players. That’s probably a big part of our progression, really.

“We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing that we would necessarily look to make – but not under-estimating the quality of the player.”

It’s easy to link Newcastle to Ronaldo because of the owners’ wealth but the reality is, the Portuguese legend is unlikely to rock up on Tyneside.