Chelsea forward rejected chance to join Cristiano Ronaldo among top-three earners in Saudi Pro League through transfer: Reports

Chelsea star Raheem Sterling reportedly rejected the opportunity to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr last summer.

GOAL (via The Telegraph) reports that Sterling snubbed a lucrative offer from Al-Alami. He would have been placed among the top three highest earners in the Saudi Pro League with Ronaldo the highest earner on a yearly salary of £173 million.

Sterling, 29, has struggled to impress since joining Chelsea from Manchester City in July 2022 for £47.5 million. The English winger has managed seven goals and eight assists in 30 games across competitions. He reportedly sits on £18. 2 million per year at Stamford Bridge, per Salary Sport.

The England international could have followed the likes of N'Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy to Saudi. The former Blues trio all headed to the Middle East following Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at Al-Nassr in January 2023.

Sterling has played under five different managers during his time at Stamford Bridge. He's failed to reach the heights that preceded him at City where he bagged 131 goals and 95 assists in 339 games.

It remains to be seen whether Sterling will continue to receive interest from the Saudi Pro League. He has three years left on his contract with the west Londoners. The former Liverpool youngster is vying with the likes of Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke for a starting berth under Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.

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Pep Guardiola urged Chelsea's Raheem Sterling to ignore comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo

Raheem Sterling was hailed by Pep Guardiola.

Sterling has long been regarded as one of the best attackers in the Premier League. His spell at City was an extremely impressive one and he won four league titles during his seven years at the Etihad before leaving for Chelsea.

One of his best seasons came during the 2019-20 campaign when he registered 31 goals and 10 assists in 52 games across competitions. He started earning comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi during that time.

However, his former City boss Pep Guardiola urged Sterling not to listen to those comparisons. He talked up the Englishman's work ethic (via All Football):

"Nobody can compare with Cristiano or Messi. I don't know if he's the best in England. Since we're together, not just now, he's been incredible with his work ethic. He's a nice guy. I'm delighted for him."

Cristiano Ronaldo spent two spells in the English top flight with Manchester United and became an icon at Old Trafford. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner bagged 145 goals and 64 assists in 346 games, winning three Premier League titles.