"Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo" - Club president confirms talks with Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo

Al-Hilal president Fahad ben Nafel has revealed that his club held discussions with Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo over a potential move to the Saudi Pro League earlier this summer.

Ronaldo, 37, has been the talk of the town since before the start of the ongoing 2022-23 season. After expressing his desire to leave the Red Devils in July, the Portuguese striker failed to secure a transfer to a UEFA Champions League-qualified club this summer.

Along with his agent Jorge Mendes, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner tried to engineer a transfer away from Old Trafford but was rebuffed by the likes of Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. He was also linked with a host of Saudi Arabian clubs, but a move never materialized.

Speaking on Thamanya, Ben Nafel confirmed that Al-Hilal were in talks with the striker's representatives over the summer. He said:

"Yes, we negotiated with him. 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."

He added:

"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."

Under new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, Ronaldo has started just three matches, with only one coming in the Premier League. He has netted just once, from the penalty spot in his team's 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Europa League, in eight games.

After arriving from Juventus for £13 million last summer, he top-scored with 24 goals in 38 appearances for the Red Devils last season.

Manchester United are currently fifth in the 2022-23 Premier League standings with 12 points from six games. The Red Devils will next face city rivals Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday (October 2).

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo tipped to move to Saudi Arabia

Speaking to The Athletic, Saudi Arabian FA president Yasser Al-Misehal claimed that he would "love" to see Cristiano Ronaldo spend the twilight of his club career in the Saudi Pro League. He said:

"We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi League. It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I'm sure everyone knows his achievements and records, but also as a player who is a great role model."

He added:

"I think, 'Why not?'. I'm sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course, but we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years. We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi League."

Ronaldo is in the final year of his contract at Manchester United, but there is an option to extend it by another year.