The A-League has seemingly failed with an audacious bid to attract Cristiano Ronaldo to Australia.
The 37-year-old is a free agent after having his Manchester United contract terminated by mutual consent, a consequence of a scathing interview that was broadcast last month.
With Ronaldo currently representing Portugal at the World Cup, no decision has been made regarding his next move, only increasing speculation regarding the topic.
The veteran forward has allegedly been offered £172.4m per year to move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, a proposal which has been put forward at a time when there has seemingly been little interest from Europe.
Nevertheless, it appears that Ronaldo had the opportunity to spend the next phase of his career in Australia having been approach by the A-League.
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Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, chief executive Danny Townsend has revealed that discussions have been held about trying to pull off the biggest transfer in the league's history.
However, it appears that the move did not pay off, Townsend saying: "We had interesting discussions, and there was genuine interest, but it's clear he has other priorities at this stage."
When questioned on the reports regarding Al-Nassr on Tuesday, Ronaldo insisted that there was little truth in the speculation.
That comment was made on the back of Ronaldo having been dropped from the Portugal XI to face Switzerland in the last 16 of the World Cup.
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His replacement Goncalo Ramos proceeded to net a hat-trick in a 6-1 win, creating the realistic prospect of Ronaldo remaining out of the side for Saturday's quarter-final against Morocco.
National team boss Fernando Santos has hinted that will be the case, telling reporters: "I will always consider in my role that he is an important player to have in the team. Ronaldo will definitely (be involved against Morocco), all the players on the bench can be used, if they are not in the starting line-up they can play later.
"It is important to look at the example of this player's history, he is one of the best players in the world at playing professionally, being captain - all we have to do is think about this team collectively."
Ronaldo has netted once in 252 minutes of football in Qatar, that strike coming from the penalty spot against Ghana in Portugal's opening group-stage match.
Darren Plant
