Football News: Saudi offer hinted at Cristiano Ronaldo amidst January exit rumors

The passage of the summer transfer deadline has effectively stopped the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer rumours for now. But many questions exist about his future at Manchester United.

United's new manager, Erik ten Hag, has started Portugal forward in only one of the team's six Premier League games.

Ronaldo has started just one of United's six Premier League games since Erik ten Hag took over as manager. In contrast, strikers Marcus Rashford (523 minutes), Jadon Sancho (423 minutes), and Anthony Elanga (215 minutes) have all played more than him.

While he has seemed more interested while coming off the bench in recent weeks, he struggled to make an impression after beginning the Europa League group stage loss at home to Real Sociedad on Thursday.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner made it plain that he wanted out of Old Trafford during the last transfer window, but links to big teams in Europe – such as Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Roma – brought no agreement before another deadline passed.

Middle Eastern countries have made the sole formal bids to the Portuguese superstar and are anticipated to make other approaches in the coming months.

In June, Ronaldo, 37, informed United's management that he intended to leave after just one season to compete in the Champions League. Still, no actual exit route materialised for him this summer.

The Saudis are ready to make a deal for Ronaldo

As he has previously stated, the lack of interest from clubs this summer has cast doubt on Ronaldo's ability to play well into his 40s.

The Saudi option will likely remain open. The head of the Saudi Arabian football federation has made that abundantly evident.

Although Al-Misehal would not comment on the individual clubs in his country that are interested in signing Ronaldo, he does anticipate that efforts to sign him would continue.

"We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league," he said in an exclusive interview. 

"'Why not?'. I'm sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course, but we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years. We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi league."

"I like Cristiano Ronaldo as a player and I would like to see him play in Saudi Arabia."

In response to the question of whether Saudi Arabia could host the legendary 37-year-old, Almisehal said, "To be honest, I don't have the answer.

"If I was the president of a club, I could give you the answer. But my colleagues at the clubs don't have to share their negotiations with me."

"It wouldn't be an easy transaction for a Saudi club or even for him, but we would love to see him or even some other top players of the same level," he continued.

Ronaldo, who had hoped to play in the Champions League in 2022–23, has been limited to a bench position under Erik ten Hag this season.

United have started younger players like Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga, and Antony in the attacking positions this season, limiting the 37-year-old to only two starts in all competitions.