There was a question mark surrounding the next career move of the forward after it was confirmed that his second stint at Manchester United came to an abrupt end.
After spending much of this season on the bench and then vent his frustration toward the club and manager in an interview with Piers Morgan,Ronaldo's contract at Old United was mulched with six months to run.
He was given a chance to put his club troubles behind him and focus on his international ambitions while representing Portugal at the World Cup.
After coming on as a second-half substitute and being beaten by a solitary goal, it was clear that what was likely to be his last chance at World Cup glory was over.
It was confirmed on Friday that the former United man has a new job. He will stay in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr.
While many thought that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner would stay in Europe to continue his quest to extend his record as the all-time record goal scorer, he has decided to leave for a fresh start.
He isn't the first big-name player to leave European football behind in search of a new challenge in another country.
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The "gold rush" to American soccer began in the 1970s when some of the greatest players in the world came to the United States. The more contemporary wave of big-name European stars seeking fresh, lucrative, late-career challenges in Major League Soccer is best exemplified by Beckham's box-office switch from Real Madrid to LA GALAXY at the age of 31 in 2007.
A group of European football's most decorated players have tried their hand in the States since Beckham opened that pathway.
Xavi left Barcelona at the age of 35 in 2015, after spending his entire career with the club. Having won all there is to win at club and international level, the man they call "El Maestro" was drawn to Al Sadd, which offered a project that would see him take on the responsibilities of player and coach as well as an ambassadorial role for the club.
The first former Spain international to end their career at Al Sadd was Xavi, who spent a couple of years in the Gulf before moving to New York in the summer of 2015.
James Rodriguez, an ex-Real Madrid forward, spent a fairly unremarkable season in Qatar with Al-Rayyan, only to return to Europe with Olympiakos after just 13 unremarkable appearances for the club.
Iniesta, who has been with the club for 22 years, announced at the end of the season that he would be leaving.
Shortly after winning his ninth LaLiga title, Iniesta left the Camp Nou to sign for J1 League club vissel Kobe, owned and chaired by billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, the Japanese retail group that just so happened to sponsor Barcelona's shirts at
Iniesta was joined by another high-profile signing in Germany international Lukas Podolski, who moved from Turkish club Galatasaray, along with his former Spain teammate David Villa.
There are many aspiring players who have made the big move from the Argentine Primera Division to the bright lights of Italy's Serie A, but there are not as many who have traveled to other countries.
After playing more than 600 times for his beloved Giallorossi, De Rossi decided to sign a short-term contract with Boca Juniors.
He was 35 when he arrived at La Bombonera and only played seven times for Boca before retiring at the age of 36.
¡Ya está en La Boca! pic.twitter.com/h2G3PPrRBi
— Boca Juniors (@BocaJrsOficial) July 25, 2019
Del Piero was arguably the most prestigious name to grace the A-League when he joined Sydney FC. The highest-paid athlete in all codes of Australian team sport is said to be the World Cup-winning forward, who snubbed interest from other teams to become the highest-paid player.
David Villa became the third World Cup winner to play in the A-League after Juninho Paulista and Del Piero when he joined Melbourne City.
The legend of Brazil's 1994 World Cup-winning team, Romario, signed for Adelaide United in 2006 on a five- match guest contract and left after only four games.
Roberto Carlos forged his reputation as one of the best full-backs and set-piece specialists of the modern era after 11 years at Real Madrid.
After two years at Fenerbahce, he went to Brazil for a season with Corinthians. Carlos returned to Europe at the age of 37, when he joined newly flush Anzhi Makhachkala, the first of a number of expensive signings made by the Russian club in order to cement itself as a serious contender on the domestic and continental front. The great Anzhi experiment fell apart amid financial chaos after the Brazilian defender retired at the age of 39.
Carlos wasn't finished. The 42-year-old was tempted to become the new player-manager after seeing a number of his peers take part in the Indian Super League.
After his side were eliminated from the ISL playoffs, the old master ended his playing career for the second time.
A few eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Gignac would be moving to Mexico in the summer of 2015 after 11 years in the French top flight. After scoring 21 league goals for Marseille in the previous season, the 29-year-old was a hot property, but he preferred to go to Mexico.
Gignac was called up to France's squad for the Euros despite the move. The host nation lost to Portugal in the final of the tournament.
Gignac has won nine major honours with Tigres and has one of his goals nominated for a Puskas Award.
Thauvin will join his former teammate at Tigres in May 2021. Jeremy Menez had a brief stint in Mexico when he was at Club America.
Seedorf had a long and distinguished career in which he won silverware at a number of European football's most revered clubs. After 10 years at the latter, the player decided to swap the Italian league for the Brazilian one and end his career there. Despite being 36 at the time of his arrival, the Dutch veteran proved to be a popular signing and made 59 appearances for the Rio de Brazil-based side.
Keisuke Honda, a member of the Rossoneri, left European football in order to sign for the Estrela Solitaria in 2020.
When China was the destination of choice for footballers based in Europe who had reached some sort of career impasse or just fancied a new challenge, there was a time.
Many of the world's best players have left European clubs to play in the Chinese Super League at the end of their careers.
Oscar's move to China at the age of 25 signaled a new dawn of players heading to China at a much earlier career juncture than they once might have contemplated.
Many followed suit and joined Chinese clubs in their late 20's.
Italian football fans were shocked when Cannavaro decided to join Al-Ahli after Italy's poor showing at the World Cup.
The centre-back won the Ballon d'Or after captaining Italy to World Cup glory, but just one year after re-signing for Bianconeri, he left for the United Arab Emirates.
After signing a two-year deal, Cannavaro played just 16 times for Al-Ahli before retiring from football.
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