Corinthians president has revealed the eye-watering competition they faced when they attempted to sign Cristiano Ronaldo on the same wage as he earned at Manchester United.
The Portuguese star reportedly earned nearly 400,000 per week at Old Trafford, and Corinthians sporting director Duilio Monteiro Alves said he attempted to pick him up on a continuation of that salary.
However, he said Al-Nassr‘s successful bid to sign the forward blew past anything the Brazilian side could afford.
“We made an offer to Cristiano Ronaldo,” Alves said. “A salary equal to what he earned at United, [a] two-year deal with the help of sponsors.
“I know he also had proposals from Europe. But the proposal from Saudi Arabia was 20 times higher.”
Big numbers
Alongside the European proposals, Fabrizio Romano reported Ronaldo turned down an offer from Sporting Kansas City where he would’ve dwarfed even NFL megastar Patrick Mahomes in the city.
Ronaldo signed a two-year deal to play in Saudi Arabia reportedly worth 200 million euros a year, alongside a deal to work as an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s 2030 World Cup bid.
“I spoke six, seven times with [agent] Jorge Mendes and, in the end, we sent a proposal through another person,” Alves added.
“I made the proposal and even hoped not to accept it [laughs].
“Just kidding, we had many partners already warned. I think we have to try.”
