Claim: Portugal striker and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a deal to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
Fact: Ronaldo denied that he agreed to join Al Nassr following Portugal’s World Cup win against Switzerland in the FIFA World Cup on 7 December 2022.
Fact or Fiction?
On 6 December 2022, the Facebook page Origination Pakistan claimed that footballer Cristiano Ronaldo had joined Saudi Arabia club Al-Nassr, having agreed a deal worth €200 million per season.
“Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo will join the Riyadh-based club for two and a half years from 1 January, reported Middle East Eye. Under the terms of the agreement, the 37-year-old will receive 200m euros ($207m) per season, making him the highest paid athlete in the world,” the caption of the post reads.
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be false. Several media outlets reported that the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr made a huge offer to sign Ronaldo after the World Cup.
Contrary to viral claims on social media, Ronaldo denied signing an agreement with the club following Portugal’s World Cup win against Switzerland on 7 December.
“No, it isn’t true,” the Portuguese striker said when asked about the move.
Ronaldo is a free agent after his Manchester United contract was terminated by mutual agreement in November following his controversial interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
Portugal was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup 2022 after being beaten by Morocco in the quarterfinals on 10 December.
Virality:
Soch Fact Check found the claim that Ronaldo has joined the club here, here, here and here on Facebook.
Posts claiming that the footballer has ‘agreed’ to join or is ‘moving’ to join the club can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
It was shared by some websites such as here, here and here as well.
Conclusion: Contrary to viral claims on social media that Ronaldo has joined the Saudi Arabian football club Al-Nassr, the footballer has denied it.