Jamie Carragher has taunted Cristiano Ronaldo after the former Manchester United star joined Al Nassr, while Gary Neville has revealed his ‘sadness’ over the deal.
It was confirmed on Friday that five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo had made the move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr on a deal until 2025.
Ronaldo was released by United in November after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan in which he hit out at the Premier League team and even said he did not respect Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag.
The Portugal international is considered one of the greatest players of all time, having also enjoyed spells at Real Madrid and Juventus.
Carragher believes joining Al Nassr is a ‘sad end’ for Ronaldo and revealed the difference in fortunes between him and Lionel Messi, who lifted the World Cup with Argentina this month.
‘In some ways it’s a sad end for him,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports. ‘Two of the greatest players of all time in Messi and Ronaldo. That debate has always been there.
‘Ronaldo has finished his career with an interview with Piers Morgan and Messi has won the World Cup. It’s not the best way to go out is it?’
Ronaldo will reportedly receive the biggest football salary in history which is more than £177m per year.
His former United team-mate Neville has also talked about the move, telling Sky Sports: ‘Look, we’re going to see a lot less of him, obviously.
‘It tells us a couple of things, it shows how serious Saudi Arabia are about football. They’ve invested £350m on one player and are going for the World Cup in 2030.
‘I thought he would want to stay in one of the big leagues in Europe, for the rest of the season at least.
‘It tells you that the offer is absolutely staggering and maybe another European club that he wanted to join didn’t really come in for him.
‘There’s an element of sadness for me because we’re probably seeing the end of Cristiano Ronaldo playing at the top level.
‘I think we could have still had that at Old Trafford had it been handled differently by both parties. But it clearly had to come to an end and he’s going to see his career out in Saudi.’
