Recently, news broke that the Saudi Arabian football club Al-Nassr have signed a contract with Cristiano Ronaldo for £175 million per year, making it the most lucrative deal of his career.
And now, Al-Nassr have reportedly added an ambassador clause to Cristiano Ronaldo’s lucrative contract, just as long-term rival Lionel Messi recently had.
Following his move from Manchester United in November for an astounding £175 million per year, the Portuguese superstar will now become a representative of the joint bid between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece to host the 2030 World Cup.
However, there has been criticism surrounding Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and various crackdowns on citizens who hold freedom of opinions or exhibit LGBTQ+ rights activism – which forced many worldwide to urge Messi not to get involved with their tourism board in February.
The letter was organised by human rights body Grant Liberty and, via The Independent, said: ‘You are an inspiration to millions and what you say and do really matters. To put it bluntly – you have enormous power, but with that power comes great responsibility.’
Despite signing a lucrative deal with the Saudi state, that didn’t stop Messi from getting jeered by the nation’s fans when Argentina faced them in the World Cup.
It was reported that none other than Messi helped promote the kingdom in May and in a match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia, Messi was not at his best.
David Beckham has also come under fire for agreeing to a promotional role for the country last year.
The Portuguese international initially denied reports that he had signed with Al-Nassr, but admitted that he received an offer of €350m (£310m) across two seasons which he turned down.
He had previously been linked to Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Napoli after informing Manchester United of his intent to leave during the summer transfer window.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
