Even at 41, Cristiano Ronaldo still commands global attention with ease. The Portugal captain has been back in the headlines this week following reports of unrest at Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr, where he is said to be unhappy with the club’s lack of transfer ambition compared to fellow PIF-backed rivals Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli.
Ronaldo’s frustration appears to have boiled over after his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema completed a switch from Al Ittihad to Al Hilal. That move, coupled with Al Nassr’s quieter January window, has reportedly led to tensions between the forward and the league. The Saudi Pro League has since issued a warning to Ronaldo, further fuelling speculation that he could leave at the end of the season.
Major League Soccer has been floated as a potential destination. On paper, it makes sense. A move to the United States would reignite Ronaldo’s long-running rivalry with Lionel Messi and offer a high-profile finale to his career. In reality, however, MLS clubs face one overwhelming obstacle.
Money.
Ronaldo’s current salary is on a completely different planet to anything MLS can sustain. At Al Nassr, he earns an eye-watering $4.73 million per week, which works out at roughly $246 million per year. That figure does not even include bonuses, which are believed to be worth an additional $50 million annually.
To put that into perspective, Lionel Messi, despite being the face of MLS, earns far less. After signing his Inter Miami contract extension in October 2025, Messi’s guaranteed salary stands at $20.4 million per year. That is less than half of Ronaldo’s reported bonus package alone.
Messi is also comfortably the highest-paid player in the league. LAFC’s Son Heung-min follows on $11.1 million per year, with Atlanta United’s Miguel Almirón next at $7.9 million, according to the MLS Players Association. The gap between MLS’s top earners and Ronaldo’s wages is vast and unbridgeable under current financial rules.
For any MLS move to become realistic, Ronaldo would need to accept a dramatic pay cut. Whether he is willing to do that is unclear. If he were, there would be no shortage of clubs lining up to sign him. Until then, Saudi Arabia remains the only place capable of matching his financial demands.
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