00:00Cristiano Ronaldo might not hit a thousand goals, and here's why.
00:04CR7 isn't happy. He's training alone and refusing to play for Al Nasser.
00:08The reason for this? Money. Well, sort of.
00:11Ronaldo's on £500,000 per day, £177 million per year,
00:16but his team, one of the four owned by Saudi Public Investment Fund,
00:19have stagnated somewhat when it comes to spending money on anyone not called Cristiano Ronaldo.
00:24They hardly spent any money in January, despite being in a close title race with Al-Hilal and Al-Ali,
00:28and even newly promoted sides Neom SC and Al-Kadizia have spent more since last summer.
00:33They did sign Jao Felix and Kingsley Coman last year, but the club spending has been curtailed.
00:38This is a common theme in the Saudi league at the moment.
00:41After spending over a billion pounds since July 2023,
00:44the Saudi regime wants their clubs to exist more like normal teams,
00:48i.e. financially sustainable, and not throwing insane money at ageing stars in a bid for relevancy.
00:53For the long-term health of the league, this is a good thing,
00:55but for the short-term goals, literally, of Ronaldo,
00:58it is not.
00:59He is possibly the most competitive human in history.
01:02The unfathomable ambition of the Saudi league matched his insatiable appetite for success,
01:06but budget cuts do not.
01:08His contract expires in June 2027, and he currently sits on 961 goals,
01:1439 away from football immortality, if he's not already there.
01:17If Saudi Arabia cannot keep him happy until he hits that milestone,
01:20who can pick up the pieces?
01:21Let us know in the comments down below.
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