Cristiano Ronaldo continues to remain the star attraction for clubs across the globe, and he now has the attention of a Brazilian club. The 40-year-old is on a mission to score 1000 professional goals, and Paulista A1 side Portuguesa has expressed their desire to become part of the journey. The Portuguese superstar has been in incredible goal-scoring form for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr since joining them in 2022. The five-time Ballon d’Or has been eluded from the team trophies in Saudi, but he has still managed to set new goal-scoring standards in the league.
The Portuguesa chief has stated that he will try to convince Ronaldo to join his team. He wants him to witness the Portuguese community in Brazil. Alex Bourgeois expressed his admiration for Ronaldo and said that after signing Nani in the past, he set his sights on signing the greatest Portuguese player in 2026.
Speaking to CNN, Portuguesa president Alex Bourgeois said: “Reinforcement and rescue the pride of the Portuguese community here in Brazil, yes, that was exactly it (the attempt to sign Nani). We are behind and we will try for 2026, for the 2026 Paulistão, to bring in a great Portuguese.
The club chief admitted that it wouldn’t be easy for him to land one of the club’s most influential footballers, but that wouldn’t stop him from talking with him about the ambitious move.
“He’s the greatest Portuguese of all time, he’s the greatest personality in the world today. It would be great, but I can imagine how many people don’t offer anything related to Portugal to Cristiano Ronaldo, right? But it’s obvious that he’s a great Portuguese, and obviously, at some point, we’re going to have to try to talk.”
Alex asserted that the potential could also help in creating a bridge between the people of Brazil and Portugal.
He added: “What we need, which is part of our strategic plan, is to create a bridge between Brazil and Portugal through Portuguesa, for Portuguesa to be this channel. We are already making some progress in this direction. We believe that this will bring many people from this community of 25 million closer to us. There are many things in Portugal, besides Portuguese football, for which Brazilians go there, whether it be for wine, food, religion, beaches, etc. So, what we want is to bring all of this to the closest place here in Brazil to create this bridge.”
Meanwhile, Ronaldo is in the final year of his contract with Al-Nassr and will be free to negotiate pre-contract terms with other clubs soon. However, the reports suggest that he has already made up his mind on signing a contract extension with Al-Nassr and has already agreed on terms for the new contract, which will help him earn around 183 million euros annually.
