'It's bizarre!' - Cristiano Ronaldo ripped apart by Premier League legend over Saudi Arabia strike amid claims he could quit Al-Nassr

Ronaldo has been in the Middle East since 2023, when he completed a trendsetting switch as a  free agent - following his stunning release by Manchester United. The most lucrative contract in world football is being worked on in Riyadh.

That is not enough to keep the evergreen 41-year-old happy, with CR7 protesting against what he considers to be an unfair distribution of funds in Saudi Arabia. He played no part in a derby date with Al-Riyadh and could sit out a top-of-the-table clash with Al-Ittihad on Friday.

Ex-England international Shearer, who remains the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer, has told Betfair of Ronaldo’s questionable antics: “There's not many people on over £400,000 a day and go on strike. It must be a nice position to be in to say I'm not coming to work despite being on that amount of money. It's bizarre when you think about it. He's a superstar but going on strike at that level doesn't look good.”

Ronaldo has been warned by the Saudi Pro League that nobody, even him, is bigger than the game itself. He has been reminded that every team in the Middle East operates as an independent entity, with transfer funds provided by individual investors - rather than the PIF covering all of those expenses.

A lengthy statement aimed in the Portuguese’s direction included the line: “Like any elite competitor, he wants to win. But no individual - however significant - determines decisions beyond their own club.”

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Ronaldo - despite having the likes of Sadio Mane, Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman alongside him at Al-Nassr - has been left frustrated at the recruitment business being carried out by Saudi Pro League rivals. His ex-Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema has left Al-Ittihad for Al-Hilal.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is now seeing questions asked of his future. Delivering an update on that situation, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has told his YouTube channel: “I can tell you that Cristiano remains upset. Cristiano remains upset with the situation.

“I told you in a video yesterday, let’s not overreact – Cristiano to MLS, Cristiano breaking his contract, and this kind of stuff. For now, let’s not overreact. But for the present, to give you an update, to give you news, Cristiano Ronaldo, according to my information, will not play a crucial game on Friday because Cristiano has no injury, no fitness management, no physical problems.

“So, forget about that. Cristiano is fit but Cristiano will not be with the squad exactly as he did a few days ago. Why? Because Cristiano remains upset with the management from the Saudi group, especially PIF, that is taking care of several clubs in Saudi.”

He added: “Again I told you yesterday guys I’m not here to speak for Cristiano Ronaldo. I am not one to speak for Cristiano Ronaldo. There will be Cristiano clarifying. There will be people close to Cristiano clarifying.

“There will be Al-Nassr for sure also clarifying. So it’s not my duty to come here and tell you what’s going on, but it’s my duty to tell you what I’m hearing. And my information is that Cristiano is not happy with the current situation and with what happened in this transfer window.”

While Romano is reluctant to be dragged into the debate regarding Ronaldo’s next move, various potential landing spots are being discussed. A return to Sporting has been mooted, with several other teams in Europe being credited with interest.

It has also been suggested that Sir David Beckham could explore the option of uniting CR7 with his eternal rival Lionel Messi at MLS Cup winners Inter Miami - a move that would see two iconic figures grace the same time for the first time in their respective careers.