According to reports, Wilfried Zaha has turned down the opportunity to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr this summer. The Crystal Palace winger is set to leave Selhurst Park at the end of the season after refusing to extend his contract. Zaha has attracted attention from Saudi Arabia, where Al Nassr is keen on signing him on a free transfer. However, the Evening Standard reports that Zaha has rejected the chance to move to the Middle East on a big-money contract, which would also see him turn down the opportunity to play alongside Ronaldo, who moved to Jeddah earlier this year when his deal at Manchester United was terminated.
Zaha has also turned down a £9 million-a-year deal from another Saudi side, Al Ittihad, while Al Hilal has also shown interest in him. However, the Ivory Coast international wants to stay in Europe and has ambitions of playing in the Champions League. This means that staying at Palace looks unlikely, despite a £200,000-a-week contract on the table. That is a considerable increase on his current £130,000-a-week deal and more than anything Palace has offered any player before. Yet, money is not what Zaha is after; his heart is set on playing in Europe before his career comes to an end.
The Evening Standard reports that Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan are interested in the forward, but the Premier League big boys are seemingly out of the picture. Where there was interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham before, there no longer is. Zaha has played 24 times in the Premier League this season, scoring six and assisting two, a downturn on his form last year. The Ivorian scored 14 goals in the 2021/22 Premier League campaign – the highest total of his career in a single season.
Meanwhile, Saudi sides continue to try and battle with European clubs for big signings, having already brought Ronaldo to the Gulf country. Lionel Messi has also been strongly linked with a mega-deal to Al Hilal in a deal worth £350m-a-year.