Cristiano Ronaldo, recent movement in 40 years of early retirement star signings in the Gulf

The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo for the saudi club Al Nassr It’s just the last episode of a movement started in 1978 by the Brazilian Rivelinothe first star to grow old and be seduced by the petrodollars of the Gulf to finish his career.

The signing of CR7presented this Tuesday to great fanfare, for two and a half years, by means of a check €200 million ($214 million)is he largest signing made by a club in the region.

Cristiano Ronaldo signs with Al Nassr the highest contract in the history of football and sport

At 37 years old and after five Ballon d’Ors, Cristiano Ronaldo comes to add his name to a rich list of heavyweights who came to achieve strong economic benefit at the end of your career and thus imitate the great midfielder of the Seleçao who, after passing through Fluminense, arrived in Saudi Arabia.

But at that time, it was al hilalAl-Nassr’s great rival in Riyadh, who had signed the brazilian for three seasons, in which he scored 39 goals and won a championship title.

That year, in In 1978, his compatriot Carlos Alberto Parreira had arrived as coach in Kuwait… who later qualified for the 1982 World Cup.

In 1998, Al-Nassr attracted Hristo Stoichkov. But the Saudi adventure of the former Barcelona player was short, although an Asian Cup Winners’ Cup is on the list of winners of the 1994 Ballon d’Or.

Stoichkov started the fashion of short-term signings, soon followed by baby – one goal in five games until his retirement in 2002 – or Denilsonshort-lived most expensive player in the world, who spent two months in Saudi Arabia in 2007.

This trend has not taken long to reach other countries in the region, starting with the United Arab Emirates.

Between 2001 and 2003, the Liberian George Weah, only African Ballon d’Or up to now, defended the colors of the Al-Jazeera from Abu Dhabi.

World champion in 2006, the Italian Fabio Cannavaro went into exile in Dubai and Al-Ahli in 2011followed a year later by the goalscorer Luca Toniwho briefly put down their suitcases in that country a year later, in Al-Nassr.

Between 2003 and 2004, Qatar signed thirty internationals from dominant countriesincluding the French Franck Leboeuf and Marcel Desaillythe Spanish Pep Guardiola and Fernando Hierro and the Argentine Gabriel Batistuta.

In 2002-2003, Romario committed himself for 100 days to the Qatari formation Al-Sadd for $1.5 million. A little expensive for three games and no goals scored.

Al-Sadd was the most inspired in 2015 by having come to Xavi Hernandez to Qatar: the Barça midfielder stayed for four seasons in which he won as many national championships.

By last, Juninho Pernambuco played from 2009 to 2011 in Qatar, for Al Gharafa. Like Xavi, the free kick genius did not disappoint. (D)