Cristiano Ronaldo did not snub interest from Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal as reports first suggested, according to the club's president.
Al-Hilal chief Fahad ben Nafel has claimed that the proposed transfer was incredibly close before its eventual collapse as a result of the team being struck by a transfer ban. Over the course of the summer, Ronaldo was desperate to force through a Manchester United exit due to the lack of Champions League football on offer.
While the rumour mill touted the forward with moves to the likes of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Napoli - no European giants actually came forward with a concrete bid. The only offer that was actually put forward to Ronaldo came in the form of a £211million two-year deal from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club.
Given his desire to continue his Champions League love affair, it was widely viewed that Ronaldo had simply snubbed that offer. While it is yet to be confirmed that the £211m offer came from Al-Hilal, Ben Nafel has insisted their offer for the 37-year-old was considered.
Speaking to the Thamanya YouTube channel, the Al-Hilal president "Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo. The problem was not in the money or the principle, Al-Hilal is able to bring in the stars of the world, but it was in the decision of the Sports Arbitration Center that prevented us from registering the players.
"We did not stop negotiating with the players despite the decision to ban, but we were delaying entering the final stage of the negotiations until the ban was lifted."
The links between Ronaldo and Saudi Arabia continue to persist. Speaking to The Athletic, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Yasser Al-Miseha claimed earlier this month: "We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league.
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"It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I’m sure everyone knows the achievements and records of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also as a player who is a great role model."
Ronaldo will be out of contract come the end of this season and extending his stay at Old Trafford appears more and more unlikely with each passing match week.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has endured a slow start to the new Premier League season, starting just once and is yet to notch a single goal in domestic competition. His only 90-minute outing came during the humiliating 4-0 defeat away at Brentford on match day two.
He has enjoyed just a measly 80 minutes across the four league games to occur since, though Ronaldo was handed rare starts against Real Sociedad and Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League, netting his only goal of the season so far from the penalty spot in the latter contest.
