Soccer star Ronaldo poised to end his boycott of Saudi Pro League

Saudi team owners and soccer fans are waiting breathlessly to discover whether reports are correct that Cristiano Ronaldo will end his two-match boycott this coming weekend amid disputes with his Al-Nassr football club and league officials.

The Riyadh team’s star Portuguese captain, who is paid $235 million a year, plans to return for Al-Nassr’s Feb. 14 match against Al-Fateh, ESPN reports. 

Ronaldo’s grievances revolve around the role of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in team affairs and comparisons with rival clubs’ transfer activity, according to the sports broadcaster.

In a statement last week, the Saudi Pro League said that any problems Ronaldo and other players have must be resolved with their individual teams.

“Decisions on recruitment, spending and strategy sit with those clubs, within a financial framework designed to ensure sustainability and competitive balance,” the league said.

Ronaldo has played 22 games this season, scoring 18 goals and providing three assists as Al-Nassr sits in second in the Saudi Pro League, one point behind leader Al-Hilal. 

Cristiano Ronaldo sits out Saudi match amid reported PIF dispute

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have sat out of a Saudi Pro League match in protest over a disagreement with the Public Investment Fund.

Ronaldo, who plays for the Al Nassr Football Club, skipped Monday night’s game against Al Riyadh, which his team won 1-0.

The Portuguese forward, who signed for Al Nassr in 2023, has become enmeshed in the kingdom’s global image, acting as a brand ambassador for tourism and sports ventures.

He is also building his own Saudi business empire, from hair loss clinics and real estate to his stake in Al Nassr.

Ronaldo reportedly became frustrated after Al Nassr failed to sign any new star players, while leading competitor Al Hilal, which is also backed by the PIF, signed France’s Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad. 

Ronaldo heads to Dubai summit, mixing sports, business, politics

Dubai is using the new World Sports Summit next week to burnish its ambition to be a global crossroads for the business and politics of sports, drawing some of the industry’s biggest names for two days of dealmaking and debate.

The gathering Dec. 29-30 will mix star power and boardroom clout, with appearances by Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo Nazario, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and MMA champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, alongside club owners, league chiefs and investors.

On the business side, speakers will include the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team’s Qatari president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, and executives from companies such as Nike and Adidas.

Organizers say the summit will focus on how technology, new financing models and global fan engagement are reshaping sports, as well as how events and franchises can be leveraged for economic growth and soft diplomatic power.

Government and corporate figures expected include Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Sports Minister Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Dubai Sports Council Vice Chairman Khalfan Belhoul and Abu Dhabi Media Network Chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak.

Ronaldo joins billionaires league with new Saudi soccer contract

Capping his 23-year career by playing in Saudi Arabia has made Cristiano Ronaldo soccer’s first billionaire.

The Portuguese superstar’s fortune was pegged at $1.4 billion in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which took note of the two-year contract he signed in June with Riyadh’s Al-Nassr team, worth a reported $400 million in tax-free salary and bonuses.

Ronaldo, 40, the all-time top scorer in men’s international soccer, played for some of Europe’s leading clubs before moving to Saudi Arabia, including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. He is captain of both Al-Nassr and Portugal’s national team.

Off the field, Ronaldo signed a decade-long deal with Nike in 2016 for nearly $18 million annually and endorsed brands including Armani and Castrol that have added over $175 million to his net worth, Bloomberg reports.

With 660 million followers around the world making him the world’s most popular personality on Instagram, Ronaldo has put much of his fortune to work at home.

He has invested heavily in Portuguese media and publishing interests, as well as in branding, real estate and his CR7 business empire that extends into hotels, apparel, and licensing, the news agency reports.

Saudi soccer signals change, selling team to U.S. investor group

For the first time, a Saudi soccer team has been acquired by a foreign investor.

The Saudi Pro League’s Al-Kholood club was bought by the Harburg Group, a business founded by American private equity investor Ben Harburg, for an undisclosed price.

The sale to a foreign group represents a change in Saudi Arabia, which has invested heavily in European soccer and spent hundreds of millions of dollars poaching foreign players, including Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The kingdom’s Ministry of Sport announced two other soccer team acquisitions on Thursday: The Al-Zulfi club was sold to Riyadh-based Nojoom AlSalam Co. and Medina-based Al-Ansar was acquired by Awdah Al Biladi and his Sons Contracting Ltd.