Cristiano Ronaldo using Real Madrid contacts to secure another transfer at new club
Cristiano Ronaldo could be reunited with his former Real Madrid teammate Keylor Navas with Al-Nassr opening negotiations to sign the goalkeeper from Paris Saint-Germain.
Ronaldo completed a stunning move to the Saudi Arabian club earlier this month and is expected to earn in the region of £173million per year. The deal comes after Ronaldo ended his relationship with United by mutual consent in November following a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
The Portuguese superstar fell out of favour under Erik ten Hag, who selected the striker from the start in just four Premier League matches this campaign as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were preferred up front by the United boss.
He could be reunited with his former Real Madrid teammate Navas at the Saudi Arabian club. The two played alongside each other for four seasons in the Spanish capital, winning three Champions League titles together and building a close relationship.
Navas’s admiration of Ronaldo could be seen when he lamented the Portuguese superstar’s exit from the club in 2018, when he joined Juventus. The goalkeeper suggested Real Madrid were a weaker team without the player in their ranks.
“Cristiano left the bar very high at Real Madrid,” Navas said, after a Champions League loss away to CSKA Moscow. “You cannot cover the sun with a finger. He made many goals while he was here, but it’s already the past and we cannot live in the past.”
Navas left Madrid the following year to join Paris Saint-Germain, a move that came after the Spanish giants signed Thibaut Courtois. However, PSG’s signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma in 2021 has once again seen the Costa Rican play second fiddle at the club.
Al-Nassr are on the market for a new goalkeeper after David Ospina, formerly of Arsenal, was ruled out for up to six weeks through an injury. Navas will be in Riyadh this month as PSG play a mixed team of Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal players in a friendly, with negotiations likely to accelerate.
A report in Marca has outined that Navas will be offered €4million for the remainder of the campaign to make the move as PSG look to recuperate a fee for a goalkeeper who is out of contract at the end of the season.
