Marca appear to dismiss their own scoop on Cristiano Ronaldo contract clause after claiming star could sign for Newcastle United on loan

Spanish outlet Marca appear to have rubbished their own report claiming Cristiano Ronaldo has a clause in his contract to sign for Newcastle United.

Ronaldo penned a two-year deal with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr on Friday to end speculation over his future after his Manchester United exit in November.

Instagram: Cristiano

The Portuguese superstar is expected to scoop £175million-a-year in the Middles East, making him the highest-paid player in world football by some distance.

In a further development, a report on the English version of Marca claimed on Monday that a clause in Ronaldo’s contract would enable him to sign for Saudi-owned Newcastle United on loan – if they qualify for the Champions League.

Newcastle are sitting pretty in third place and are firmly in the mix for Champions League qualification after a superb start to the season where they have lost just once in 17 Premier league games.

But now it appears that Marca’s main Spanish language account has U-turned on their scoop, denying any knowledge of the apparent clause.

Replying to the claim about the ‘Newcastle clause’ in Ronaldo’s contrat, Marca replied on Twitter: “Our information was Cristiano would sign and Cristiano signed by Al Nassr. No info about Newcastle in Cristiano’s contract. Cheers.”

The tweet indicates a total contrast to their story published earlier on Monday, stating Ronaldo could be set for a switch to Tyneside.

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Links with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would have been a pipe dream for Eddie Howe’s side 12 months ago.

In the space of a calendar year, Howe has transformed the Magpies from relegation candidates to Champions League hopefuls, playing expansive football along the way.

Newcastle have bought wisely since their Saudi-led takeover in October 2021, adding the likes of Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak to their ranks.

Howe has been able to fine tune his existing squad with players such as Joelinton and Miguel Almiron now firing on all cylinders after a difficult start to life at St. James’ Park.

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