Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, Marco Verratti has said Lionel Messi incredible stay of form pushed Cristiano Ronaldo out of Europe to sign for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo alongside Lionel Messi ruled football for almost two decades. As age came creeping in, the impact of Ronaldo on the pitch reduced dramatically, affecting his goal scoring ability.
The Portuguese less impact in front of goals saw him dropped to the bench at Manchester United and also his national team side, Portugal at the December, 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Dropping to the bench wasn’t good for a player of his caliber (thinks Ronaldo), considering the number of years he has been at the top and the general influence he has on the sport. Ronaldo granted an explosive interview that saw his contract with Manchester United come to an end before time.
His contract termination followed up with a bad stint at the World Cup, finding a club in Europe and fulfilling his dream of continuing to play in the Champions League wasn’t forthcoming. Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
His departure to the far east came along with lots of applauds and critics. Ronaldo penned a two and half year contract worth €175 million per year.
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, Marco Verratti is one of the players who have criticized Ronaldo’s decision to play for Al Nassr.
First siting Ronaldo not congratulating Messi on his World Cup win, Verratti said Messi stay in form pushed Ronaldo out of Europe and made him move to Al Nassr.
“Cristiano couldn’t congratulate Leo for the World Cup triumph. And again decided to change his mind to go to Al Nassr after he claimed it was fake news for him to go to Saudi Arabia. We all talked about it here, laughed about it too, because we all know who pushed him to leave Europe. It’s the other guy who won the World Cup. It’s not his decision to move away from Europe, it’s just the embarrassment. He needs time to heal and he will come back, because his heart is with Uefa not Asia. It hurts him too much.”
Ronaldo had earlier said he would end his career in Europe and has no plan on moving to the far east of America towards the end of his career.
He criticized Xavi when the now Barcelona coach still played for Qatari team Al Sadd. Xavi in an interview picked Messi ahead Ronaldo and reacting to it, Ronaldo said Xavi has achieved nothing and his preference doesn’t matter because he plays in Qatar.
Ronaldo is looking to make his debut with Al Nassr soon.
