'Middle East? Too early!' - Arsenal legend baulked at Ronaldo's path

Stuart Telford

• 3 Feb 2023 16:04 GMT
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't the only big name player offered a deal in the Middle East this season, with one former Gunner turning down the chance to play there before returning to France.

Alexandre Lacazette brought his five-year stay at Arsenal to an end last summer, returning to first club Lyon with 71 goals and 36 assists from 206 games under his belt, as well as a Community Shield and FA Cup.

His return home has been a success, with 19 goal-involvements from 23 games so far this season, but the striker had other options - including from the Middle East - and is convinced he made the right one.

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"I had several offers in Spain," Lacazette told So Foot. "I had Lyon, but also two other clubs in France. My choice for Lyon had been made since March, there were just a few questions about coming back, so as not to ruin everything I had done here in the past. That was pretty much my thought.

'Too early' for the Middle East

"Afterwards, there were one or two clubs in the Middle East, but it's too early. I knew I could still do something in Europe..

"La Liga interested me, but I wanted to be the project of a club and not just that of a coach, because if he leaves, there's nothing left behind. And I did well, because that's what happened in one of the two Spanish clubs in question."

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Barcelona and Atletico Madrid had previously been linked with Lacazette, while Sevilla replaced head coach Julen Loptegui with Jorge Sampaoli in October.

Ronaldo was still a Manchester United player at that point, but left the club "by mutual consent" in December after giving an unsanctioned interview to Piers Morgan in which he slammed the club, its Glazer family ownership, and manager Erik ten Hag.

He joined Al Nass in Saudi Arabia on 1 January, signing a contract worth €200 million a season, although the sporting aspect of his move has come into question.