Cristiano Ronaldo ‘agrees’ world record contract following Newcastle United talks

Ronaldo is reportedly set to join Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr following his release from Manchester United earlier this month.

The 37-year-old is currently at the World Cup with Portugal but saw his contract with Man United terminated following a controversial interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised the club’s owners and management team.

Newcastle United were tipped as a potential destination for Ronaldo after the Daily Mail reported that the player’s agent Jorge Mendes spoke to the club regarding a potential move.

But the Daily Mail are now claiming that the Portuguese icon is set to sign a record contract with Al Nassr worth a staggering £173million-a-year or roughly £3.3million-a-week.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe already played down a potential move for the veteran forward as the club looks to sign younger players with potential.

"He’s an outstanding player,” Howe previously said prior to Ronaldo’s release. “If you look at his goal record last year, it was incredible. For me, the transfer has worked, it’s been a success.

“We’re trying to provide long-term growth, we’ve got a longer-term vision. At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad, so we probably need to invest in more young players. That’s probably a big part of our progression, really.

“We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing that we would necessarily look to make – but not under-estimating the quality of the player.”