Cristiano Ronaldo welcomed the signing of Karim Benzema to the Saudi League (Al-Ittihad) believing it showed him the way other stars can go. He was waiting for Lionel Messi who finally chose Inter Miami.
Cristiano Ronaldo (38) returned to Madrid on a business trip on Wednesday. The Portuguese star was presenting his new business, a water brand (Ursu9), and agreed to talk a little bit about football. From his hotel in the Pestana CR7, he was delighted to sign former teammate Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia (Al-Ittihad), claiming he had played a leading role. After being fired by Manchester United last December, Ronaldo signed with Saudi club Al-Nassr a few weeks later. A choice that is assumed even more today when many stars (including the French N’Golo Kanté) are announced.
“Let all the cracks come through, here we have no problem with La Liga.”
He said: “I knew that going to Saudi Arabia opens the box, I was not wrong, I am sure that in two or three years it will be one of the most important tournaments in the world, Karim was there and more will go there.”
Relaunched many times in football news, the five-pointed Ballon d’Or reminded his fans that he’s here to talk business. He finally made one last exception to evoke the possible arrival of Lionel Messi, his intimate rival, in Saudi Arabia. “Let all the cracks come through, here we have no problem with La Liga,” he launched, referring to La Liga’s financial rules that gave Barcelona a very narrow deadline to try to bring Messi back. A few hours later, the Argentine finally chose a third option: Inter Miami.
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In introducing its new brand of water, CR7 signaled its desire to diversify as it nears the end of its career. “I’m already at the end of my career… so I have to do 80-20,” he expected to devote 80% of his time to soccer and 20% to other activities. He added, “I have two or three years left in my career. At this age, it is very important to take care of yourself. After that, I will not rule out buying a football team. C is something I would like to do after my playing career.”
