“Cristiano Ronaldo withdrew during an interview with Piers Morgan and Lionel Messi won the World Cup”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia marks a “sad end” to the legendary striker’s career, insists Jamie Carragher.

Former Manchester United striker Ronaldo has struck a deal worth around £177 million a year with Al-Nassr, making him the highest-paid athlete in history.

It comes after his contract at Old Trafford was amicably terminated in November following an explosive interview with TalkTV presenter Piers Morgan.

The 37-year-old was also knocked out by Portugal at the World Cup before a quarter-final exit to Morocco, while his famous rival Lionel Messi led Argentina to glory.

And according to Carragher, the whole thing is pretty tragic.

“It’s a sad end for him in some ways,” the Liverpool legend told Sky Sports.

“Two of Messi and Ronaldo’s greatest players: Ronaldo retired during an interview with Piers Morgan and Messi won the World Cup.

“Not the best way out.”

The Saudi Pro League is not known for its quality and UK fans will not be able to see Ronaldo as there are currently no deals with UK TV.

And his former teammate Gary Neville says soccer fans last saw Ronaldo at an elite level.

“We’re going to see it a lot less, obviously,” Neville said.

“It tells us a few things. First, how serious Saudi Arabia is about football. They’re not going away. They’ve invested £350m in a player. They’re trying to strengthen the league.

“But with Cristiano Ronaldo, I felt he wanted to stay in one of Europe’s top leagues at least for the rest of the season and start scoring more goals. You could find a Champions League club.

“He tells me the offer is overwhelming. Maybe the club he wanted in Europe didn’t come for him and that was his option.

“An element of sadness because we probably last saw Ronaldo play at the highest level.

“I think we could have seen more at Old Trafford if both sides had handled things differently. It had to end, before the World Cup it had to end. In the end it was inevitable.”