ANOTHER Chelsea flop on his way to Saudi Arabia

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 20 Jun 2023 18:01 BST
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo could be reunited with an old adversary in the Saudi Pro League next season, with ex-Chelsea loanee Saul being linked with a move to Al-Nassr.

The Spanish midfielder, 28, still has three years left to run on his contract with Atletico Madrid – with whom he lost the 2016 Champions League final to Ronaldo’s Real Madrid – but has career has someone stalled in recent years.

Saul – who currently has an Estimated Transfer Value of €33.3m – made scant impact on loan at Chelsea in 2021/22 and started only 11 La Liga games for Atletico during the campaign just gone.

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As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Atleti cut their losses this summer – and, according to AS, Al-Nassr have already put an offer to Saul.

Ronaldo joined the Riyadh-based club in January, having left Manchester United by mutual consent last November – although he couldn’t quite help them win the 2022/23 title, as they finished five points behind champions Al-Ittihad.

And the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s arrival has undeniably raised the profile of the Saudi Arabian top flight, precipitating a concerted push to attract more big-name players from Europe to the Gulf state.

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The latest Saudi-bound star?

Saul isn’t the only Chelsea disappointment seemingly on the radar of a Saudi club right now: Hakim Ziyech appears close to joining Al Nassr, while Kalidou Koulibaly is said to be on the verge of signing for Al-Hilal – who recently failed to land Lionel Messi.

Edouard Mendy has been linked with Al-Ahli, with N’Golo Kante expected to team up with France colleague Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad.

Numerous other prominent stars from Europe’s top fiver leagues could also be playing their club football in Saudi Arabia next term, too – among them Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric and Roberto Firmino.