Huge salary and dazzling personal stats. Nevertheless, Cristiano Ronaldo (40, Al Nassr), who has not been able to deliver a championship trophy to his team, dreams of returning to his former club.

Global 'beIN Sports' reported on the 16th (Korean time) that "Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to leave his team Al Nassr early due to contract issues," adding, "The extension contract that was being pursued has fallen through due to conflicts with the club, increasing the likelihood that he will ultimately aim to return to his former team Sporting (Portugal)."

Ronaldo left Manchester United in 2023 and joined Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. He scored 91 goals in 103 matches, becoming the top scorer in the Saudi league consecutively. However, despite the dazzling personal records, the team has not lifted any championship trophies.

Al Nassr, completely outmatched by Al Hilal, has not lifted any championship trophies recently despite acquiring Ronaldo. In particular, after losing 2-3 to Kawasaki Frontale in the semifinals of the 2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE), criticism of Ronaldo has intensified.

This ACLE was held as a single match in Saudi Arabia. In fact, considering the significant power difference against the East Asian team, the loss to Kawasaki shocked Al Nassr fans. Ronaldo, after suffering a shocking upset against Kawasaki, shed tears and drew laughter. After the match, Ronaldo expressed his feelings, saying, "Sometimes, you have to wait to fulfill your dreams. I am proud of our team that poured everything onto the field to get here."

However, fans have reached their limit. It is because Al Nassr has been trophyless since Ronaldo's arrival. Fans expressed, "We need to think about performance, not money," "Our team's defense is garbage," "Ronaldo, please defend a little," "We shouldn't be paying Ronaldo that salary," "We can't win with Ronaldo," and "It's exhausting. It's time for people to realize."

This was not the end. Al Nassr fell to fourth place (31 matches, 19 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses, 63 points) after a 2-0 lead against Al Ittihad on the 8th, turning the game around to a 2-3 loss and leaving their next season’s ACLE qualification uncertain. They are essentially not getting their money's worth.

In this situation, looking at the '2024 World Sports Player Earnings Ranking' published by the American economic magazine Forbes, Ronaldo earned approximately £206 million (about 383.6 billion won) over the past year, ranking first. This marks his third consecutive year and fifth overall as the world's number one. Ronaldo's income has increased by about £11.2 million (approximately 20.8 billion won) compared to the previous year.

From the perspective of Al Nassr fans, it is understandably frustrating. Particularly, it is reported that Ronaldo receives about £177 million (approximately 328.6 billion won) as his salary at Al Nassr. Even if this is excessive for a player who cannot bring championships to the team, the player cannot deny the amount.

Following consecutive defeats, contract negotiations between Al Nassr and Ronaldo have stalled. beIN Sports noted, "Ronaldo is considering leaving Al Nassr to return to Sporting. Sporting is looking for Ronaldo as a replacement for Viktor Gyökeres, who is being targeted by big clubs. The player is also in a situation where he would accept a pay cut to return to Sporting."

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