No sooner than he landed in the Saudi Pro League, a clause in Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr contract could see him return to England and, crucially, the Champions League.
The 37-year-old’s world record move to the Middle East was finalised on New Year’s Eve, with the Portuguese star signing a two-year contract as part of a deal worth more than £177m a year. Crikey.
Given Newcastle United‘s current ownership, the report claims that he could be loaned to the Magpies as part of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which has seen state money pumped into the teams like Al Nassr and Newcastle.
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While part of the reason Ronaldo ended up in the Gulf state was that very few clubs on the planet could afford his astronomical wage expectations — said to have been on over £450,000 a week during his second stint at Man United — Newcastle’s ties could see him back in the Prem come next season.
The resurgent North East club currently sit third in the English top flight following some key investments made with Saudi money and Eddie Howe having finally begun to implement his own style of football.
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Moreover, should they manage to secure CR7’s signature using what is, effectively, a shared pool of wealth, it would be a huge coup that would generate serious revenue and global exposure for both teams over the next couple of years. He’s already made a start over in Saudi.
Having long been one of the most best-performing and decorated Champions League performers in history, becoming the competition’s greatest goalscorer of all time (141), not to mention having insisted that he wanted to keep playing at the top level, Ronaldo will no doubt be keen to return however he can.
Ronaldo landed in the country’s capital of Riyadh on Monday ahead of completing his medical; the side will obviously be looking to get him on the pitch as soon as possible.
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If he turns out to be fit enough, fans can expect him to make his debut as a substitute against Al-Tai on Thursday 5 Jan and, and if not, he will surely start for his new club against Al-Shabab on January 14. He can expect a warm welcome when he does:
Featured Image — Newcastle United (via IG)/Al-Nassr FC (via Twitter)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
3rd January 2023 
