The Portuguese superstar joins his next club as a free agent after leaving Man Utd mid-season.
Rio Ferdinand believes Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr will end a difficult phase in his career.
On Friday, Al Nassr completed a move for Ronaldo, who signed a two-year deal at the club. The transfer ends months of speculation over CR7’s next club.
Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid were all linked with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. But none of those moves materialized as Ronaldo decided to end his career at the top level.
Many observers believe the 37-year-old was eager to stay in Europe but failed to land a move to a Champions League side. But Ferdinand believes his former teammate can find happiness in a new environment.
“Obviously I speak to Cristiano and there’s things you have to keep quiet and you can’t talk about before it hits the news,” he told BT Sport.
“I was kind of aware what was going on behind the scenes and I’m just pleased for him that he’s finally happy.
“For any footballer at whatever level, happiness and the environment you’re playing in is one of the most important things.
“But what an adventure, what a prospect that is, to go and play football in a brand new league, a competitive league by the way.
“I’ve been watching the media and people saying it’s sad, a sad way for him to go out.
“There’s only two sad things for me: the way it ended at Man Utd, I’m sad about that. In a couple of years, he’ll look back and think it could’ve been handled differently from both himself and the club.
“That’s one sadness because you want it to end in the best way possible and things be remembered positively but it won’t be in some people’s eyes, that’s a tinge of sadness.
“The way the World Cup ended for him, a tinge of sadness, in terms of being on the bench, not having a huge impact in his last one, that’s a tinge of sadness.
“But this next chapter going to Saudi Arabia, how do you look at that as a sadness? A sad way to end his career? I don’t understand how people are saying that.”