Cristiano Ronaldo was reportedly waiting for an offer from his former side before he made the move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.
After spending his whole professional career in Europe, Ronaldo made the switch to Asia after penning a two-and-a-half year deal with the Saudi Pro League.
However, there were reportedly no major European sides interested in his services despite being linked with a number of clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League.
Ronaldo Breaks Silence On Al Nassr Move, Big 'Salary' Revealed
Marca have reported that the 37-year-old forward was waiting for an offer from Real Madrid but the call never came.
Ronaldo returned to the Spanish capital after the FIFA World Cup and was allowed to use Los Blancos' training facilities, however there would be no fairytale return.
Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand calims his former teammate is happy with the move to Saudi Arabia despite the criticisms.
"Obviously I speak to Cristiano and there's things you have to keep quiet and you can't talk about before it hits the news. I was kind of aware what was going on behind the scenes and listen, I'm just pleased for him that he's finally happy," Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"For any footballer at whatever level, happiness and the environment you're playing in is one of the most important things, he hasn't been happy for a while so I'm pleased he's on the verge of finding that happiness and going onto pastures news, albeit in a country that not many people expected him to go.
"But what an adventure, what a prospect that is, to go and play football in a brand new league, a competitive league by the way, I played in a testimonial over there years ago, it was an unbelievable game, we were all surprised with the madness, the mayhem around football over there. The love of football in Saudi is crazy. I'm sure it's going to be a great adventure, it's a new chapter, next chapter."
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