Cristiano Ronaldo plans ambitious move to shake-up Spanish football, the big guns better beware

Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo has taken another step towards his post-playing days. Man United career The global superstar joined Manchester United in 2003, winning multiple league titles and the Champions League in 2008. He was also named the Ballon d’Or winner in the same year. He would later go on to have an incredibly successful career with Real Madrid after moving there in 2009, before joining Juventus in 2018. Ronaldo made headlines around the world by rejoining Manchester United in 2021, but his return was short-lived as he left in the autumn of 2022 after an explosive interview with Piers Morgan about his time at the club. Saudi Arabia Since 2023, Ronaldo has been playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has scored 121 goals in 136 matches for his side. He is also closing in on 1,000 career goals, currently sitting on 965 goals including his efforts for Portugal. Ronaldo has also invested heavily throughout his career in numerous projects spread across hotels, gyms, clothing, movies, tech, and health. Almeria The former Manchester United number seven has spoken publicly about how he would like to own a big football club in the future, and it seems he has taken the first real steps into this world. Spanish newspaper AS reports that, “Cristiano Ronaldo has bought a 25% stake in UD Almería. The investment, whose financial details were not disclosed, will be folded into CR7 SA, the parent company through which Cristiano Ronaldo is expanding his growing footprint in the sports business.” Commenting on the deal, the Portugal star stated, “I’ve always had the ambition to contribute to soccer beyond the field. UD Almería is a club with solid foundations and clear growth potential. I’m truly excited to work alongside the leadership team to support the club’s next phase of development.” Almería president Mohamed Al Khereiji added, Ronaldo is “widely considered the greatest player of all time, knows Spanish soccer extremely well, and understands the potential of what we’re building here, both with the first team and our academy.” The Spanish side currently sit third in the Segunda division, just two points from top side Racing Santander. They recently played in La Liga during the 2023–2024 season and will be hoping for a return this season. Cristiano Ronaldo Club Career Stats ClubAppearancesGoals Real Madrid438450 Manchester United346145 Juventus FC134101 Al-Nassr FC136121 Sporting CP315 Portugal226143 Featured image Yasser Bakhsh via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.