Cristiano Ronaldo turned down offer to join Brazilian club Corinthians
Corinthians president Duilio Monteiro Alves has confirmed the club made an attempt to sign Cristiano Ronaldo before he joined Al Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo decided to decline offers from clubs around the world to join Saudi side Al Nassr after becoming a free agent in November, following the termination of his contract with Manchester United. One of those approaches came from Brazilian side Corinthians, but Al Nassr’s offer was 20 times higher, according to club president Duilio Monteiro Alves.
Ronaldo declined Corinthians offer
“I know he also had proposals from Europe. But the proposal from Saudi Arabia was 20 times higher,” said Alves. “I spoke six, seven times with Jorge Mendes [Cristiano’s agent at that time] and, in the end, we sent a proposal through another person.
“I made the proposal and even hoped he wouldn’t accept it [laughs]. Just kidding, we had many partners already warned. I think we had to try [...]. When you’re president of Corinthians, you have to go after the best in the world.”
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner decided to join Al Nassr and become the highest paid athlete in the world. The Portuguese signed a two-and-a-half year contract that is reportedly worth $212 million per year, including commercial agreements.