Cristiano Ronaldo part of $500m bid for stake in Al Nassr

• Portuguese star in consortium
• Investors to commit $100m each
• PIF is sole Al Nassr owner

Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly part of a consortium in talks to buy a stake in Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr from the Public Investment Fund.

The group includes RedBird Capital Partners CEO Gerry Cardinale, former Al Nassr president Ibrahim Al Muhaidib, Saudi Media Company chairman Mohammed Al Khuraiji and Hozon Holding chairman and CEO Sharaf Al Hariri.

Each of the investors would commit at least $100 million, valuing the proposed investment at about $500 million, according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola.

The report comes as Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund seeks to bring more private capital into the kingdom’s football clubs.

The talks have also been reported by Asharq Bloomberg and other media, but there is no completed deal and the terms of any potential transaction remain unclear. Reports suggest an agreement could be reached by the end of the season.

The move would give Ronaldo a potential ownership role at the Riyadh club, where he has played since joining in 2023. The 41-year-old – football’s first billionaire with a net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes is in the final year of his contract.

A deal would mark another step in PIF’s efforts to bring private capital into Saudi football after taking majority stakes in the country’s four leading clubs in 2023.

The sovereign wealth fund owns 100 percent of Al Nassr after the Ministry of Sport began transferring the 25 percent stake previously held by the club’s non-profit foundation in August. The move was part of a broader restructuring of ownership at Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli.

That transfer effectively leaves PIF as the sole shareholder of Al Nassr – winners of the Saudi Pro League last season – ahead of any potential private investment.

According to Arab News in July, citing Arabic sports daily Arriyadiyah, Al Nassr had accumulated debts of $212 million, quoting unnamed sources.

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The reported consortium would bring together football, media and investment interests. Cardinale’s RedBird owns Italian club AC Milan, while Al Khuraiji’s Saudi Media Company has interests across media and sport.

Ronaldo is also linked commercially to Al Khuraiji. The Portugal player acquired a 25 percent stake in Spanish club UD Almeria through his CR7 Sports vehicle earlier this year, while Almeria is controlled by Al Khuraiji’s SMC Group.

Ronaldo is the highest paid athlete in the world, according to the latest rankings from Forbes, with total earnings of $300 million in the 12 months through until May 2026.