The intriguing Cristiano Ronaldo to Newcastle United ‘option’ that has ‘collapsed’

Joining Newcastle United was an option for Cristiano Ronaldo but a potential move has collapsed. That’s according to Italian journalist and transfer insider Gianluca Di Marzio.

Ronaldo is set to join a new club in the coming weeks after instigating his exit from Manchester United. The Red Devils terminated the 37-year-old’s contract last month after telling Piers Morgan in a TV interview that he felt betrayed and did not respect boss Erik ten Hag.

The six-time Ballon d’Or is tipped to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, who have reportedly tabled a £173million-a-year contract offer. Indeed, Di Marzio has claimed there was a possibility of Ronaldo joining the Magpies until the end of the season before moving to the Middle East.

He told soccernews.nl: “The only real offer that he has on the table is Al-Nassr. They want him from the summer and the money on the table is €200 million, it’s surreal. Two-and-a-half year contract.”

“The priority of Cristiano was to stay and play in Europe. But now, no clubs in Europe approached him in a concrete way. At the moment, Al-Nassr is the only solution that he has on the table.

“Only Newcastle, because the idea was he could play till June in Newcastle and then go to Al-Nassr but I think that has collapsed.

“He’s out of contract so before he will sign, I don’t know if some other solutions will arrive. In this moment, only Arab teams like from Dubai as well, are options.”

“Not in Europe as he would like. Sporting CP, yes, they’re ready to get him but not with the economical offers that he could have from Al-Nassr and other Arab clubs.”

Previously, head coach Eddie Howe was asked about the prospect of signing Ronaldo and essentially ruled it out by relaying the club’s current policy of signing younger 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.”