Another Saudi signing? Cristiano Ronaldo pushing Al-Nassr to lure Man City player with $1 million-a-week wages

Al-Nassr are targeting Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic in the January transfer window with a pay package worth over $1 million a week designed to snare the Manchester City midfielder, according to CBS Sports sources. The Saudi Pro League side had hoped to make Kovacic a marquee deadline-day signing on Monday but was unable to shift Sadio Mane and create the international space needed for a player whose acquisition, per sources, has been heavily championed by Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Saudi side is also considering a move for free agent Adrien Rabiot and awaits interest from Turkiye in both Mane and Anderson Talisca. Currently, the Riyadh side does not have space on the roster to add another international player over the age of 21 and would need to move on one of eight foreign veterans to add to the squad. Any signing of Rabiot would be in addition to the planned move for Kovacic.

Al-Nassr and their star forward Ronaldo view the Croatian midfielder as a potentially transformative addition to their team and are intending to make City a sizeable offer when the window reopens at the start of 2025. Sources close to the club indicate that the fee they were prepared to pay on deadline day would have been one of the most expensive ever paid by a Saudi club. In addition to the sizeable fee they had been prepared to offer City, Al-Nassr had intended to offer a salary understood to be worth in the region of $65 million a year for Kovacic, roughly six times what he currently earns.

Ultimately their inability to find a deal for Mane made it impossible for them to open talks with City. Senegal international Mane had been the subject of interest from two clubs, one of which was Al-Nassr’s rivals Al-Ahli. Both clubs are owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF. Al-Ahli would also have needed to make space in their rosters for Mane and had been in talks with Al-Taawoun to send Roberto Firmino to the club. When that string of deals fell apart, so did any hopes of extricating Kovacic from the Etihad Stadium. 

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That news would have been a matter of disappointment to Ronaldo, who according to sources is championing a move for the Croatia international. The two players spent three years together at Real Madrid until 2018. At that time Kovacic was more a prospect than the finished article, struggling for guaranteed minutes behind the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

Six years later and Kovacic has been an impressive performer for City so far this season, particularly excelling in the opening weekend victory over his former club Chelsea. The 30-year-old has started every game so far under Pep Guardiola, having made 16 Premier League starts last season. Whether the addition of Ilkay Gundogan and the imminent return to fitness of Rodri will limit the first team minutes afforded to Kovacic remains to be seen, as does how City would respond to a formal proposal from Al-Nassr.

Separately, Al-Nassr are considering a move for Rabiot though at a salary lower than the $22 million that has previously been reported. Rabiot’s possible arrival would be contingent on the departure of either Anderson Talisca or Mane, who could move to Turkiye before their window closes on Sept. 13. The arrival of the French international in Riyadh would not preclude a January move for Kovacic, though it would necessitate Al-Nassr creating an additional salary spot.