An explosive TV interview with Piers Morgan was the final straw for Erik ten Hag, who wanted to cut ties with Ronaldo in the summer. The Red Devils were said to have been ‘furious’ with Ronaldo after his attack of the club caught them by surprise, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner claiming that he felt betrayed.

Naturally, he was linked with the wealthiest clubs across the world — one of which being Chelsea after Boehly had met with his agent Jorge Mendes earlier in the year. Instead, Ronaldo jetted off to the Saudi Arabia to join Al-Nassr where he’s aged like a fine wine.

The Portuguese icon, who has 18 months left on his contract in the Middle East, has scored 35 goals and provided 13 assists in just 42 games for Al Nassr. Ronaldo’s impressive performances have even sparked speculation that he could return for another stint in the Premier League.

Frank Warren was sat next to the striker at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ boxing event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, where Anthony Joshua was fighting in the main event against Otto Wallin. When the camera panned over to the duo, Tyson Fury’s promoter joked: “He’s signing for Arsenal!”

Ronaldo and Warren laughed, but then the latter followed up the comment with a tweet. He wrote: “Working on it.”

While it remains to be seen whether Arsenal would be open to signing the veteran, Todd Boehly is certainly a fan. According to the Daily Mail, the American billionaire wanted to sign Ronaldo in the summer of 2022, but Thomas Tuchel put his foot down and blocked a potential transfer.

With the German no longer in the dugout, Boehy could test Mauricio Pochettino’s resolve in January – and history suggests that the Chelsea boss could be more open to signing the Portuguese star than he predecessor. Back in 2017, Pochettino was asked to preview Tottenham’s clash against Real Madrid Champions League.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, he said: “He’s a very important player, but they have lots of very good players. The squad they have is amazing and they have a very good manager. They’re a fantastic club, but you need contributions from the whole squad to win titles.”

Then, in an interview with Spanish outlet Marca later in the year, Pochettino heaped more praise on Ronaldo. The Blues boss said: “He’s [Ronaldo] a phenomenon. He has been awarded ‘The Best’ and the truth is that he deserves it. In addition to his qualities as a professional, he is an example.

“He never tires of repeating that the secret is to work hard, to strive, to take care of himself – every player should apply it,” Pochettino added. “They [Ronaldo and Harry Kane] are very similar in terms of professionalism.