Cristiano Ronaldo signs Al Nassr contract extension

Cristiano Ronaldo has ended speculation about his future by signing a two-year contract extension at Al Nassr.

Ronaldo, 40, who joined the Saudi Pro League club at the end of 2022, has signed with the Riyadh side for a further two years until the summer of 2027.

Nassr published a video across their social media channels with the caption: “The story continues.” It ends with Ronaldo saying the words: “Al Nassr forever.”

Ronaldo: I won't be going to Club World Cup - but I've had plenty of invitations

Ronaldo posted a picture of himself holding up a Nassr shirt with “2027" on the back and the message: “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together.”

Thursday's announcement ends months of speculation that the Portuguese superstar was set to leave the club when his contract expired on June 30, especially after a cryptic message he posted on social media last month saying “the chapter is over”.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino poured petrol on the fire when he suggested Ronaldo could join a team involved at the ongoing Fifa Club World Cup in the US.

An extra transfer window (June 1-10) was in effect to allow the 32 clubs competing at the revamped tournament to sign players.

Ronaldo doused those flames days later when he revealed he would not play at the tournament, but that he had received “plenty of invitations” to play.

Al Nassr shocked the footballing world when they announced the signing of Ronaldo on New Year's Eve 2022, weeks after the striker had his contract with Manchester United terminated.

Though his move has elevated the Saudi Pro League to unprecedented levels, Ronaldo is yet to win a major trophy with Nassr.

They finished second in his first season at the club in 2022/23 and ended runners-up again the following campaign, trailing Riyadh rivals and champions Al Hilal by 14 points.

The 2024/25 season saw Nassr finish third and be eliminated from the AFC Champions League Elite at the semi-final stage.

He will begin next season under a new head coach following the dismissal of Italian Stefano Pioli on Wednesday.

Al Nassr's Jhon Duran celebrates scoring the third goal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Angelo Gabriel during their Asian Champions League round of 16 second Leg at Al Awwal Park in Riyadh. Reuters

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring from the penalty spot against Esteghlal on Monday. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring with Al Nassr teammate Sadio Mane. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo scores from the penalty spot. Reuters

Jhon Duran scored twice to help Al Nassr qualify for the ACL quarter-finals. Reuters

Jhon Duran with Ali Lajami after scoring the third goal. Reuters

Despite Nassr missing out on a trophy, the former Real Madrid and Juventus star proved he is still a prolific finisher, scoring 34 goals in 40 appearances. In all, he has scored 99 goals in 111 appearances for the Saudi club.

He also helped Portugal win the Uefa Nations League two weeks ago, scoring a record-extending 138th international goal as Spain were defeated in the final on penalties.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is closing in on a scarcely believable 1,000 senior career goals, needing 63 more to reach the milestone.

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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah

She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters

Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks

Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo signs Al Nassr contract extension

Portuguese forward ends months of speculation by clinching new two-year deal

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