Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has said that he 'would love' for Cristiano Ronaldo to continue his career in the Premier League.
The 37-year-old had his contract with the Red Devils terminated at the end of November following the explosive interview that he gave to Piers Morgan on TalkTV.
Ronaldo is now searching for a new club, and it is understood that he is determined to continue in European football despite a lack of interest.
Al-Nassr continue to be heavily linked with the Portugal international, and a switch to Saudi Arabia is thought to be the most likely outcome at this moment in time.
However, Neville has said that he would be pleased to see Ronaldo remain in the Premier League, with Chelsea and Newcastle United among the clubs to be credited with an interest.
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"I don't think there's any doubt Cristiano needs, wants and has to play," Neville told the Sky Sports World Cup Podcast. "Otherwise, he's not going to be happy and he's not going to accept it. That means the club that take him will know that's the case.
"Unless there's a change of heart or approach, and the club and the player decide to have an honest conversation and say, 'Come and play for us, but you're going to be sat on the bench every other week, and you're going to compete for your place.'
"But we've seen at the last two teams he's played in, United and Portugal, that that's not gone down particularly well for either party.
"I think that pressure of having him on the bench, and how the media is so big, he's so big with the fans, he's one of the great players to have ever played the game, that seeing him on the bench is almost like a magnet for trouble for the club he's playing for, because the focus becomes the player who's not on the pitch, rather than the players who are playing.
"At that point, you need to make sure it doesn't become a distraction. That's where it got to at United and it's where it got to with Portugal at the end. So, I think it's got to be a very careful decision made by the club and by Cristiano.
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"I hope he finds happiness and a club that will get him into the team and getting him scoring the goals that we know he can score - he'll score 20 goals in 30 matches wherever he plays, maybe 20 goals in 20 matches, knowing him.
"But how does he see the end of his career playing out? Does he see the end of his career playing out in lesser leagues, or does he see it playing out at one of the major leagues and continuing at that level?
"I hope it's the latter, and I hope he can find a club in the major leagues, even the Premier League, I'd love him to stay in the Premier League at a club that can have him up front and we can watch him every week because that's what we want to see, we want to see him playing."
Ronaldo became the first player to score in five World Cups when he found the back of the net in Portugal's opener at the 2022 competition against Ghana, but he was dropped to the bench in the latter stages of the tournament.
The forward also failed to impress for Man United in the first half of the 2022-23 campaign, only managing three goals in 16 appearances in all competitions.
Matt Law
