Rio Ferdinand claims that Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabian football is not ‘sad’
the Portuguese star moved to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr in a lucrative deal that has been questioned by many of his fans and critics alike.
Rio Ferdinand insists that
Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr isn’t a “sad” affair as he thinks his former teammate is “finally” happy after a period of unhappiness.
The 5-time Ballon d’Or winner has moved to
Al Nassron a two-and-a-half-year deal which would see him earn something close to €200m-a-year. Many have questioned his decision to move to the Middle East and have deemed it “sad” that a player like Ronaldo has chosen to go to a less-prestigious league. But Ferdinand is adamant that this isn’t the case.
"Obviously I speak to Cristiano and there's things you have to keep quiet and you can't talk about before it hits the news,"
Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"I was kind of aware what was going on behind the scenes and I'm just pleased for him that he's finally happy. For any footballer at whatever level, happiness and the environment you're playing in is one of the most important things.
"He hasn't been happy for a while so I'm pleased he's on the verge of finding that happiness and going onto pastures news, albeit in a country that not many people expected him to go.
"But what an adventure, what a prospect that is, to go and play football in a brand new league, a competitive league by the way.
"I've been watching the media and people saying it's sad, a sad way for him to go out. There's only two sad things for me: the way it ended at Man Utd, I'm sad about that. In a couple of years, he'll look back and think it could've been handled differently from both himself and the club.
"That's one sadness because you want it to end in the best way possible and things be remembered positively but it won't be in some people's eyes, that's a tinge of sadness.
"The way the World Cup ended for him, a tinge of sadness, in terms of being on the bench, not having a huge impact in his last one, that's a tinge of sadness.
"But this next chapter going to Saudi Arabia, how do you look at that as a sadness? A sad way to end his career? I don't understand how people are saying that."
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