Cristiano Ronaldo ‘DIDN’T reject’ Al-Hilal transfer as Saudi chief reveals why mega-money move from Man Utd fell through

CRISTIANO RONALDO “didn’t reject” a summer transfer to Al-Hilal, according to the club’s president.

And he revealed the two parties were heading into the final stages of negotiations before the mega-money move collapsed.

PA

But Fahad ben Nafel insisted it was not Ronaldo who pulled the plug.

Instead, he claimed a transfer ban placed on the Saudi Arabian side proved the critical blow.

Nafel told the Thamanya YouTube channel: “Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo.

“The problem was not in the money or the principle, Al-Hilal is able to bring in the stars of the world.

“But it was in the decision of the Sports Arbitration Centre that prevented us from registering the players.

“We did not stop negotiating with the players despite the decision to ban, but we were delaying entering the final stage of the negotiations until the ban was lifted.”

Ronaldo, 37, looked on course to quit United in the summer after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League with just 12 months left on his Old Trafford contract.

He was linked with Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Napoli but they all opted against trying to sign the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

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That meant a switch to the Middle East looked more likely with massive wages up to £2million per week on offer.

Al-Hilal appeared to be in pole position.

However, they were slapped with the sanctions which prevented them bringing in any new players after Mohamed Kanno’s transfer fiasco saw him registered for two clubs at the same time.

Ronaldo has started just once in the Premier League this season – the 4-0 drubbing at Brentford – with Marcus Rashford claiming the No9 spot.

The Portugal superstar did get his first goal of the season from the penalty spot as United beat Sheriff 2-0 in the Europa League.

However, SunSport revealed his team-mates believe he will push for a move once again in January.