Ronaldo to be joined by Premier League star at Al-Nassr

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 20 May 2023 13:04 BST
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be joined at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr by a player with 150 Premier League appearances to his name, according to reports.

Lucas Moura will leave Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer after this season, and has caught the eye of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr. Ronaldo has been playing at the latter club since his controversial departure from Manchester United late in 2022.

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Lucas is best remembered at Tottenham for his heroics in the Champions League semi-final of 2018/19, when he scored a hat-trick to overturn a massive lead Ajax had built up, sending Spurs to the final of the competition for the first time. His winner in that encounter arrived in the 96th minute of the game.

“After scoring a vital late equaliser away to Barcelona in December of that year which sealed our progress into the knockout rounds of the 2018/19 Champions League, Lucas etched his name into Club history during the semi-final the following May with a second-half hat-trick away to Ajax – including a stoppage-time winner – which sent us into the Final,” Tottenham wrote in his goodbye message.

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Lucas career history

Lucas has played 219 matches for Spurs, scoring 38 goals and creating 27 more. However, he has won nothing with the North London club.

The 35-time international (4 goals) previously played for PSG and Sao Paulo. In France, he won the national championship five times.

His next step could well be to the Saudi Pro League, where he could team up with Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.

Alternatively, Al-Hilal is another option on the table. Al-Hilal have already offered Lionel Messi a lucrative two-year contract worth €1 billion, but with Barcelona set to get the OK from LaLiga to re-sign the Argentine, the deal could probe complicated.