Cristiano Ronaldo’s meeting with MLS club announced as part of discussion over ownership stake

Cristiano Ronaldo almost joined an MLS club before moving to Saudi Arabia, with a possible ownership stake also being discussed during negotiations.

Ronaldo, 39, left European football in early 2023, joining Saudi club Al Nassr on a three-year deal after Manchester United agreed to terminate his contract at Old Trafford.

In doing so, he became the highest-paid player in world football: the Portuguese superstar reportedly earns £177 million a year with the Saudi Pro League team.

Ronaldo held talks with several other clubs before joining Al Nassr.

And things could have turned out very differently if he had accepted an offer from Sporting Kansas City.

Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes told the Kansas City Star that the club held several meetings with senior club officials prior to Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia and claimed that negotiations were “really getting into full swing.”

According to The Athletic, MLS had an internal database at the time of 50 players whose signing would have the most value to the league. Lionel Messi and Ronaldo were ranked 1st and 2nd, and Kylian Mbappe was ranked 3rd.

According to the report, Messi was not yet at Inter Miami when Sporting KC started negotiations with Ronaldo.

The MLS club was said to be “serious” about its approach and had “proposed creative packages that would have included cuts in international jersey sales and potentially a stake in the club’s ownership.”

According to the Kansas City Star, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick – who owns shares in Sporting KC – was willing to explain to Ronaldo what it’s like to live in the city as a sports superstar.

Ronaldo held talks with the MLS club (Image: Getty)

“The feedback was positive and one meeting followed another. The senior figures in the team were convinced that they had got down to the last two players before Ronaldo chose Saudi Arabia,” the report continued.

According to the report from Athletic, a transfer of Ronaldo to the USA was previously considered unlikely by numerous top managers of other clubs due to a variety of factors.

It is claimed that it was “tacitly accepted” that a transfer would not take place due to the costs associated with signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and the “publicity” that surrounded the rape allegations against him in the USA.

Former model and teacher Kathryn Mayorga claimed that the former Manchester United and Real Madrid footballer raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

Ronaldo has always vehemently denied the allegations and has never been charged.

Mayorga reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010 worth $375,000 (£304,000).

In 2022, a US judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mayorga against Ronaldo that could have resulted in an increase in the alleged payment by several million dollars.