Cristiano Ronaldo has been pushing Al Nassr to sign a Manchester City star, according to stunning reports.
Al Nassr already have a transfer target on their radar ahead of the January window, with the summer transfer window slamming shut on Monday.
And the club’s pursuit is being engineered by Ronaldo.
According to James Benge, the 39-year-old has been pushing Al Nassr to sign Mateo Kovacic from Manchester City.
The Saudi Pro League side were prepared to offer Kovacic a whopping $1 million-per-week contract on deadline day.
They had hoped to make the Croatian midfielder a ‘marquee deadline-day’ signing.
But the side were unable to offload Sadio Mane, which would’ve created an international space within their squad.
However, Al Nassr will reportedly go back to sign him in the January transfer window.
Al Nassr and Ronaldo view Kovacic as a potentially ‘transformative addition’ to their team and are intending to make Man City a ‘sizeable’ offer when the transfer window reopens at the start of 2025.
Sources close to the club claim the fee they were prepared to pay on deadline day would have been one of the most expensive ever paid by a Saudi club.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Mateo Kovacic celebrate a Real Madrid goal. Image: Getty
Al Nassr were not only prepared to offer a huge fee to Man City but also had intended to offer a salary understood to be worth in the region of $65 million a year for Kovacic, which would have been a massive increase from what he currently earns.
Their inability to sell Mane prevented them to open talks with Man City.
The former Liverpool star had attracted interest from Al Ahli, who purchased Ivan Toney from Brentford.
Kovacic, meanwhile, has been plying his trade at the Etihad since June 2023 following his switch from Chelsea.
He’s made 49 appearances for the club, scoring 4 goals.
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