Portuguese billionaire footballer Cristiano Ronaldo eyes 20% stake in Saudi club Al Nassr

Portuguese billionaire footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to become a part-owner of Al Nassr, the Saudi Arabian club he has played for since 2023, under a takeover plan led by RedBird Capital Partners, the U.S. investment firm that owns Italy's AC Milan.

RedBird has held at least two meetings with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund that owns Al Nassr, about buying 70% of the club for about 1 billion riyals ($267 million), people familiar with the matter said this week. Ronaldo is expected to hold 20% under the proposed structure. Riyadh-based Saudi Media Co., a private media, sports and entertainment group, is among the other possible investors.

The terms could still change. A person close to the wealth fund described RedBird's interest as early and said a deal might not happen. RedBird and the fund have not commented publicly on the talks.

Debt cleared ahead of a sale

The fund is using companies in its portfolio to clear about 800 million riyals ($213 million) of Al Nassr's debt, partly through new sponsorship deals, to prepare the club for new owners, the people said. Al Nassr has spent heavily on players since Ronaldo's arrival and was placed under a league-imposed transfer ban earlier this year.

Saudi Arabia moved Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli under the wealth fund's control in 2023, when the fund took 75% of each club as part of a government plan to privatize the country's sports clubs and lift the league's profile. In August, the Ministry of Sport transferred the remaining 25% of Al Nassr, held by the club's nonprofit foundation, to the fund, leaving it as the sole owner and the only seller.

The Al Nassr talks follow the first sale of one of the four clubs. In April, the fund agreed to sell 70% of Al Hilal, Al Nassr's biggest rival, to Kingdom Holding Co., the investment firm controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, in a deal that valued the club at 1.4 billion riyals ($373 million).

Ronaldo's path to ownership

Ronaldo's possible stake has been discussed since September, when a group including RedBird chief executive Gerry Cardinale, former Al Nassr president Ibrahim Al Muhaidib and Saudi Media Co. chairman Mohammed Al Khuraiji was first linked to a bid. Ronaldo's contract with Al Nassr gives him a priority right to buy up to 20% of the club if it opens to private investors, according to people close to the talks. It is still unclear how his stake would be paid for or how the final shares would be split.

The 41-year-old forward joined Al Nassr at the start of 2023 after leaving Manchester United and signed a two-year extension in June 2025 that keeps him at the club until 2027. He already owns a club stake outside Saudi Arabia: his investment company, CR7, holds 25% of Spanish team UD Almeria, which is controlled by Saudi Media Co.

Bringing Ronaldo in as a shareholder would give new owners one of the most recognized athletes in the world as a partner. The prospective investors want to raise Al Nassr's profile in the U.S., the people said.

RedBird, founded by Cardinale, bought AC Milan in 2022 for about €1.2 billion ($1.34 billion) and also owns French club Toulouse. It holds a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group, the owner of English Premier League club Liverpool, and manages about $21 billion.

Ronaldo became the first footballer to amass a fortune of more than $1 billion last year, built on more than two decades of salaries at Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nassr, as well as endorsement deals, his CR7 brand and investments in hotels and other businesses.