Cristiano Ronaldo's Future: No Return to Europe
Cristiano Ronaldo’s future keeps sparking debate, but one former team-mate in the Middle East is convinced of one thing: Europe is not calling him back.
The Portuguese superstar has been Al-Nassr’s undisputed centrepiece since arriving in Riyadh in early 2023, after his contract at Manchester United was terminated on the eve of the 2022 World Cup. He signed what was billed as the most lucrative deal in world football and, as the Saudi Pro League arms race accelerated, the likes of Karim Benzema and Sadio Mané soon followed him to the region.
Ronaldo has responded in the only way he knows. Goals, and plenty of them. He has added two more Golden Boots to his vast collection and kept his personal standards at an elite level. Off the pitch, though, there has been turbulence. In February he briefly downed tools in protest at how funds were said to be distributed between clubs under PIF control, a rare public flashpoint in an otherwise smooth commercial juggernaut.
He is back now, driving Al-Nassr’s push for the Saudi Pro League title and tied to a contract that runs until the summer of 2027. If he sees that out, he will be 41. Retirement still looms in the distance, but nobody yet knows when he will finally stop.
There has been talk of a romantic final chapter at Sporting, the club where it all began. Paul-José M’Poku, though, is not buying it.
The former DR Congo international, a Tottenham academy product who played in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia and now features in Baller League UK with Angry Ginge’s Yanited side, told GOAL he cannot see Ronaldo walking away from what he has in the Gulf.
“I don't think he will come back to Europe. And I think there's no point for him to come back to Europe, especially with what he's earning there and how people treat him there,” M’Poku said, underlining the comfort and status Ronaldo enjoys in Riyadh.
“When you reach that age, there's things that you don't want anymore. I think he will have a World Cup, probably the last one, and then go back to Saudi. Let's see when he will stop.”
Al-Nassr have every reason to cling to him for as long as possible. On the pitch he remains a relentless goalscorer; off it he is a commercial phenomenon. The club are expected to keep strengthening around their No.7, both to maintain their competitive edge and to ensure their biggest star stays content.
One name refuses to go away in that conversation: Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool forward is edging towards the end of his Anfield spell, with the prospect of leaving as a free agent, and Saudi Arabia has been circling for some time.
Could he end up alongside Ronaldo in yellow? M’Poku sees the Egyptian making the same move to the region, even if he stops short of pinning him specifically to Al-Nassr.
“I think Mo Salah will probably go to Saudi,” he said. “I don't know if it's Al-Nassr, but yeah, he will go.”
The situation around the club adds another layer. PIF are trying to sell Al-Nassr, and that could reshape any marquee transfer plans.
“But now also the PIF, they're trying to sell the club. So if the owner comes and says, I want to buy Al-Nassr, and this owner buys players, it will be okay,” M’Poku added, suggesting a new investor could easily bankroll another superstar arrival.
While the idea of Ronaldo feeding Salah in front of a packed stadium in Riyadh feels very real, the dream of seeing Ronaldo and Lionel Messi finally share a dressing room looks as distant as ever.
Messi is locked into a contract with MLS champions Inter Miami through 2028. Speculation has long swirled around whether club co-owner and Manchester United legend David Beckham might one day unite the two modern giants in South Florida. M’Poku is blunt on that fantasy.
“I don't think it will happen,” he said. And even if it did, he is not sure it would be wise.
“For me, I don't know if it's good to see both of them on the same team, because both of them are big stars and either you have to choose one - you are pro-Messi or you are pro-Ronaldo. I don't think it's good for a club to have both of them.”
So the rivalry looks set to continue on parallel tracks rather than converging in one shirt. Both players are still expected to feature at this summer’s World Cup and both are closing in on the scarcely believable landmark of 1,000 competitive career goals.
M’Poku will be watching from a different vantage point now. Having stepped away from the grind of the professional game, he has dropped into the high-profile six-a-side world of Baller League at the Copper Box Arena in London, sharing a pitch with influencers and ex-pros under the lights every Monday night.
Ronaldo and Messi, though, are not done with the biggest stages yet. The question is not whether they will shape the next few years, but where the final, defining scenes of their careers will be played out – and who will be brave enough, and rich enough, to stand alongside them.
