• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Ballon d'Or winner got offered £200,000 to play for Al Nassr before Cristiano Ronaldo transfer

Home> Football> Saudi Pro League

Updated 16:45 2 Nov 2023 GMTPublished 16:43 2 Nov 2023 GMT

Ballon d'Or winner got offered £200,000 to play for Al Nassr before Cristiano Ronaldo transfer

Cristiano Ronaldo isn't the first Ballon d'Or winner to play for Al Nassr but a previous signing had a bizarre spell.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Cristiano Ronaldo is easily the biggest star to ever play for Al Nassr but he isn't the first Ballon d'Or winner to represent the club.

Ronaldo was the catalyst for a wave of elite players moving to the Saudi Pro League when he signed a whopping £175 million-a-year contract with Al Nassr back in December.

The league, particularly clubs backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, splashed on a wealth of talent - with some of the high-profile signings including Karim Benzema, Neymar, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Roberto Firmino, Fabinho, Marcelo Brozovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Jordan Henderson and Riyad Mahrez.

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

Advert

But Al Nassr had one of the world's best players in their ranks 25 years ago.

Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov won the Ballon d'Or back in 1994 while playing under Johan Cruyff at Barcelona, where he won four La Liga titles and one European Cup.

Nicknamed 'El Pistolero', Stoichkov had a second spell with Barca between 1996 and 1998.

There a short stint back at his beloved CSKA Sofia but he had an even briefer spell in Saudi.

Advert

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

He joined Al Nassr in 1998 but the contract was anything but long-term. Incredibly, it was just a two-match deal for the five-time Bulgarian Player of the Year.

The Saudi side brought him solely to win the Asian Cup Winners' Cup for the first time.

Al Nassr got byes in the first two rounds before beating Al Ittihad 3-2 in an all-Saudi clash in the quarter-finals.

Advert

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

Stoichkov was then drafted in for the semi-final and finals, which Al Nassr went on to win.

As per The Sun, it's claimed he was paid £165,000 for two games but it was worth it for Al Nassr as Stoichkov scored the winner against Korean side Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

He went on to play in Japan with Kashiwa Reysol and the MLS with both Chicago Fire and D.C United before he retired in 2003.

Featured Image Credit: Getty & Al Nassr

Topics: Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

X

@joshlawless_

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Cristiano Ronaldo fan claims to have 'evidence' the Ballon d'Or is biased against Al Nassr star
  • Only one of the 92 league clubs in England has a lower average attendance than Saudi Pro League
  • Scottish singer has 2007 song bizarrely top of the charts in Saudi Arabia thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo
  • Gabri Veiga 'hits back at Toni Kroos' after Real Madrid star brands transfer to Saudi Arabia as 'embarrassing'

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • Getty
    an hour ago

    Spurs Star ‘Gives Green Light’ for Shock January Move as Talks Begin

    One Tottenham Hotspur star has been linked with a move away.

    Football
  • Getty
    an hour ago

    Kobbie Mainoo Could Reunite With Ex-Man Utd Teammates in January Transfer

    Manchester United's young midfielder may look to leave in January

    Football
  • Getty
    an hour ago

    Barcelona Furious With 'Witch Hunt' Against Player After Jude Bellingham Incident

    Real Madrid won a fiesty first El Clasico of the season to move five points clear in La Liga

    Football
  • Getty
    2 hours ago

    Vinicius Jr Issues Statement as Furious Xabi Alonso Threat Spotted in El Clasico

    The Real Madrid star has spoken out following his outburst during El Clasico.

    Football